


The Taste of Copper

by Catatonica



Series: The Taste of Copper [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Marriage, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, big mom being evil as always
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:27:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 45,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27532264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catatonica/pseuds/Catatonica
Summary: Political marriages are not unusual in the Charlotte family. You are not exempt from this, you must give the yes-word to protect your homeland. The people of Big Mom's archipelago congratulate you on your marriage to Katakuri, the second oldest son of Linlin. But how could you ever love a man if you don't even know him?
Relationships: Charlotte Katakuri/Reader
Series: The Taste of Copper [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012350
Comments: 11
Kudos: 54





	1. Here comes the bride

A wedding. Your wedding.  
Then why weren't you happy? Wasn't it every woman's dream, dressed in a frilly ball gown all in white? With a tiara on your head, your hair worked into a noble and elegant braided hairstyle - the pearls on the corset of the dress were fished from the bottom of the sea, directly from the fish-man island. They shone in the pale light of sunrise, shimmering in the most beautiful and iridescent colors. It would be a dream if it happened to someone else.  
This should be the most beautiful day of your life, you should be in joyful expectation to see your future husband. Instead, two servants had woken you up early, put you in this much too tight dress and did your hair. The ceremony would be held at noon, but for some reason you were already dressed like a dress-up doll. Since then you sat in this far too small room, waiting and with a heavy heart. You didn't even know the groom, and yet you would probably spend the rest of your life with him - whether it was a short or long life, let it be put there.  
Your father had had no choice, he had to agree to this forced marriage. It was no secret that Big Mom had wanted to establish a relationship with the giants for a long time - only the giant tribe was not very fond of the pirate. The reasons were not quite clear to you, but Charlotte Linlin had finally gotten it into her head to count a tribe of half giants among her allies. She had marched to your beautiful island by force, had made it clear to your father - the tribal leader - that it would be wiser to join Big Mom. By necessity he had agreed, but he had resisted the idea of marrying you off to one of Mom's sons.

_"It's all right," you held firm to your point. Your father, Aegir, however, walked up and down, careful not to say his thoughts out loud._   
_"I will not leave my daughter to this monster," the leader of the branch tribe growled grimly and paused briefly to take a look out the window of the longhouse. The sun was slowly setting, throwing wild colors over the village, and time was running out. Mom had given you two days to send a reply. Two days in which Aegir insisted on hiding you and claiming you had fled in the face of forced marriage._   
_You had refused to let him work on you several times to do this for the village, but your father kept resisting your attempts to convince him._   
_"Father, if we don't agree..." you started again and the chief stopped. The gray, old eyes flitted over your face, which was stone. No emotion was visible, even if your stomach was aching with fear. It was your responsibility as future leader of the tribe - the inhabitants of the island had to be safe. And if Mom didn't get what she wanted, she would destroy this island._   
_"Are you sure?" your father finally asked weakly. He had come to the same conclusion: marriage or annihilation. "There's no going back then. We will never see each other again, my child."_   
_You swallowed. You nodded._   
_"I know, Father."_

There was a knock.  
"Are you ready?" Ah, Lola and Chiffon. Probably the nicest people in this family of pirates. Sure, they were young, but they seemed like good-hearted people. Unlike your soon-to-be mother-in-law Linlin, who frightened you quite a bit. This monster of a woman was only eating, she treated her own children like dirt and you didn't even want to know how she dealt with her enemies.  
"Have been for an hour," you answered the two sisters and sighed slightly. "I don't understand why I have to sit here."  
The sisters exchanged meaningful looks.  
"Mother wants to see you before you leave."  
Oh.  
"When?", you asked, as calmly as possible. You had never stood alone in front of Big Mom before, and the mere thought of the pirate made you nervous.  
"Now. We're coming with you." Lola and Chiffon held the big double door open for you, so you could fit through with that monster of a frilly dress. The corridors of the palace were so wonderfully colorful and scented with all kinds of candy, but that just couldn't thrill you at that moment. Fear crept up your neck and you clung on to the frills of the wedding dress, seeking help. It was so tight, you could hardly breathe. Or was it the fear that cut off your oxygen?  
As a half-giant, you were quite tall, though probably not as gigantic as Big Mom herself. She was really unique and since it was only the third time you saw her in full size, you were intimidated. Although you were twice as big as Lola and Chiffon, Big Mom was still quite a bit taller. Bigger than you and much wider than yours truly.  
"My future daughter-in-law," you were greeted and respectfully bowed your head. 'Old witch!', it flashed through your mind, but your smile was a little wider. Mom reached to her left, there was a tray filled with all kinds of sweets. She stuffed herself, masses of food in just one bite. She didn't take her eyes off you, that cold and piercing look. She could just snap your neck like it was a branch, and you weren't exactly small and delicate. Slowly it dawned on you why she had such a keen interest in the giants.  
"It's a shame you're not a real giant," Linlin continued. Your gaze flitted over the strange figures behind her - were they a cloud and a sun? With... faces?  
"I am very sorry to disappoint you," you replied calmly and bowed your head again. "I fear my human mother is to blame for my not being a full-blooded giant."  
"A disgrace," Linlin repeated and examined you once more from top to bottom. "But that dress suits you. Sweet as icing on the cake."  
She didn't mean what she said. Her tone was so cool and threatening that your whole body shivered under goose bumps.  
"Thank you, Mama," you said. "Can I help you with anything else?"  
"At least you have good manners, child," she coolly praised you and stuffed another load of eclairs inside her. The smacking hurt your ears, that woman was just too disgusting. "Surely you must be looking forward to the ceremony?"  
Your grip on the ruffles got a little tighter.  
"But of course, Mama."  
"Good girl. Behave yourself." You looked down, had she already used those words when she took you to her ship. When she took you away from your home and your family. _Behave yourself._  
A clearer warning could not have been given to you. Play along and we will let you live.  
"Yes, Mama," you answered immediately, trying to sound as sincere as possible. Your inner voice dripped with rage and contempt, with fear and despair. Outwardly, it was absolutely necessary that you gave the bewitched bride. Enviably beautiful, obedient and endlessly happy about the marriage with one of Linlin's sons.  
She is so lucky to be allowed to marry one of the commanders.  
Katakuri is a good catch.  
He is perfect.

"Come sister, let's go through the ceremony again," Lola and Chiffon now approached you, each at one of your sides.  
"Take her away," Big Mom made a sweeping gesture, releasing the three of you from her attention. You made a polite curtsey in your frilly monster and then hurriedly let the twins lead you out of Mom's room. The way back to your dressing room wasn't too far, but it felt like a small eternity.  
"What's he like?", you finally asked, hesitantly and barely audible. The young women looked up at you and tilted their heads until they finally understood what you meant.  
"Ah! Katakuri is our second oldest brother," said Lola with a twinkle in her eye. "He is so cool! He's incredibly strong!"  
"Quiet and very collected," Chiffon added, also probably very impressed by her brother. "He's really perfect."  
"And that's who I should marry," you muttered inside, but the two of them heard your doubtful words. Immediately each of them grabbed you by one arm and tried to cheer you up immediately.  
"Don't worry, big sister! Katakuri is very patient with all his servants, you will certainly not disappoint him," Lola promised and anger boiled up in your stomach, poisoning your voice with disgust.  
"Servants?," you asked and stopped in the middle of the hall. "I am his wife, not his servant."  
The twins looked at each other somewhat dismayed, and you knew your tone was far too harsh. They didn't want to make you unhappy, but to encourage you on this exhausting day. But something in their eyes did not please you and made you frown.  
"Well, Katakuri is your husband," Chiffon finally said sheepishly. "You must always support him, that is the job of a good woman! We must be there for our men and help them."  
"But that doesn't mean she is his kitchen woman," Lola replied, and gave her sister a defiant look while both of them pulled you further along. "A man is nothing without a strong woman to back him up!"  
Even more meekly, Chiffon agreed, but that didn't really make your concern go away. What if this Katakuri was just the perfect man on the outside, and actually a very bad guy? What if he knew no honor and ended up beating you if you didn't obey?  
You swallowed against the lump in your throat and tried to breathe calmly on your way back to the dressing room.  
Slowly you began to really regret your brave sacrifice.

With trembling fingers you reached into the hem of your dress and lifted it a little bit to avoid stepping on it. It was time, in a moment this door would open and you would marry. You would be received with enthusiasm; the blushing bride, all white and draped with all kinds of flowers. You had to be elegant, handsome and every man in the world would be happy to be in Katakuri's place.  
Unaware of what your future husband looked like, you tried to imagine him - mostly to suppress your nervousness. If he was Big Mom's son, he must have been big - and fat. Many family members were a little broader, probably due to the constant consumption of sweets. And he was already 40, much older than you! You wondered if he already suffered from hair loss?  
Hopefully not...  
Your thoughts circled around his appearance, when you remembered that there were other things you had to do at a wedding. The consummation of the marriage, as it was called. Nausea crept up your throat when you thought about it. Sex with a complete stranger who was probably not the least bit handsome. You would have to give yourself to him for better or worse, that was the tradition.  
Eyes closed and through, as your father always said.

_Good girl._

There was no turning back: From today on you were a Charlotte, even if you did not bear her name. Through this marriage you were brought to your knees and had to submit. One misstep and they would probably kill you and then crush your home into the smallest pieces.  
One creaky noise, then the door opened. Sunlight dazzled you for a moment, but you blinked at it and grabbed your bouquet a little tighter. The air was cool and some cherry blossoms, carried by the wind, remained in your hair. It was such a beautiful day in spring and yet the sun's rays did not warm you a bit.

_Behave yourself._

Applause was waiting for you, hundreds of hands made you take the next step to the roof terrace. It was a sea of floral decorations, sweets of all kinds and the strangest characters of the Charlotte family. A gigantic cake rose up in the background, right next to the flowery altar at the northern end of the terrace and all eyes were only on you.  
Here comes the bride.


	2. To be somewhere else

"... we have gathered here today to..."  
You barely heard the priest's words, just stared at your husband's chest. As you suspected, he was tall, almost enormous. But the feared hair loss did not occur, on the contrary: Katakuri didn't look a bit like he was already 40. At first sight you would have thought he was in his early 30s, as muscular and handsome as he was. The lower half of his face was hidden under a fur-trimmed scarf, but his eyes pierced you with piercing glances that you could feel down to your core. When you faced each other you tried to smile at him, very shyly and as pleased as possible.  
Those cold, piercing eyes quickly put an end to your efforts. Something in his gaze melted your courage, the hope for a bearable life died slowly but surely in your chest - you felt like crying. So you put on that fake smile and answered obediently to the questions you were asked. Whether you want to love him, honor him in good times and bad.  
  


_I do._

  
A lie. You wanted to fucking go home! This was all a terrible idea, you should have run away like your father suggested. On the other side of the world you should have hidden from that responsibility, who cares if you were a coward?  
Whether he wanted to love you, honor you in good times or bad.  
  


_I do._

  
His voice was rough, dark and so incredibly cold. No warmth, no affection, not even a hint of sympathy could you hear in it. You wanted to go home - damned if you had to go to the bottom of the sea! Just away from Katakuri and those weird characters of the Charlotte family, who were watching you both sometimes even delighted.  
Of course you noticed how respectfully everyone treated your husband. They seemed to appreciate Katakuri very much and looked up to him as they swarmed around him. Even though he might be nice to his siblings, you had no guarantee that he would be so good to you. Judging by his appearance, he was not a man of great patience, not a very obliging husband and probably a rather bad person.  
You could only hope to be wrong.

"I hereby pronounce you man and wife."  
You expected a kiss to make marriage official, but instead Katakuri just turned away from you. The family cheered and left you somewhat confused but more than relieved. No kiss? You were lucky!  
All the more shocked you flinched when he put his arm under your hand. Automatically, you flinched a little from the intimidating man who made you hook up with him. Wordlessly he accepted your fear, but began to lead you from the altar to the banquet table.  
Ah, yes. The banquet.  
The cooks had probably outdone themselves, just as the food was raved about. Many sweet dishes were offered, but there were also some hearty dishes on the gigantic table. It was rather the arrangement of many large tables in a U-shape, so that the wedding party quickly became a busy table. People laughed, chatted, and after Big Mom officially allowed the food - with a toast to the happy couple - there was a busy meal everywhere. A little discontented you sat at the head of the table, near Big Mom, between Katakuri and a chubby lady named Compote.  
Your newly married man was content with some tea instead of food and ignored you completely. Hunger was the last thing on your mind, so you poked around listlessly in your cupcake, your ears pricked up at the conversations of the surrounding guests. The fact that these strange creatures were now also your family gave you a sharp twinge in the chest, because apart from Lola and Chiffon you hadn't really had any contact with any of the other members.  
"Sister! You look so pretty!" A little girl tugged at your dress and you looked down at her - oh. Did she really have three eyes or were you just imagining it?  
Creepy.  
"Th-Thank you," you replied shyly and gave the child a smile. "Your dress is beautiful too."  
The girl grinned broadly, but then waved childishly and jumped away to engage with the other youths in the family. Astonished at the Charlotte's lively little daughter, you continued to poke and prod until you dared to ask a question that had been on your tongue for some time.  
"Katakuri?," you asked quietly to your right, and for the first time since the ceremony, your husband looked at you. "Where do I... uh, we... live?"  
"So ill-informed the young thing," whispered Compote, who had heard your hesitant question. "Dear, Katakuri is the minister of flour. Of course you live on Flour Island."  
"Ah, thank you very much," you mumbled and continued to take the little fruit tart apart. So on one of the outer islands, you thought and tried to call up a map of the archipelago in your mind. The main island was the home of Big Mom herself, and even though Chiffon couldn't tell you everything before the wedding, there were several ministers for the different types of sweets. Katakuri was minister of flour, so it was obvious that he resided on Flour Island.  
At least you were nowhere near Big Mom, who was getting ready to eat the wedding cake at the time.The thought of sharing a bed with this man brought tears to your eyes and with all your concentration you tried not to burst into tears.

_  
  
Beh_ _ave yourself._

"You're leaving already?" The voice of the eldest of the family, Perospero, made you look up from the cupcake massacre on your plate. Katakuri stood up, adjusted his scarf and nodded.  
"There is much work to be done. Soon it will be time for the harvest," he returned, and that was by far the longest line of words that had been spoken all day. But when he left - did that mean you had to go with him, too?  
Already about to get up and gather the masses of tulle and frills, Katakuri fended off your efforts with a sweeping gesture of his hand.  
"No need," he said and his cold gaze touched you briefly. You froze in the movement, then nodded shyly and dropped back onto your chair. Apparently he had no great interest in spending his time with you, luckily for you. But who knew what it would be like in the evening when you shared a bed and this marriage had to be consummated.  
You got sick just thinking about it.  
"Don't worry, Katakuri is always very busy," said Lola, who appeared behind you with chiffon in tow. The twins each gave you an encouraging smile, even though they probably had no idea what was really bothering you. "We'll take you to Flour Island later with Brother Daifuku."  
Thankfully you nodded to them, but then you rose up under an avalanche of frills to follow Katakuri - you had a role to play after all.  
"Katakuri," you caught up with him at the big gate of the roof terrace and he stopped his way to look at you without feeling. 'What do you want', said the judgmental look. You put on the most convincing smile and bowed your head respectfully to your husband.  
"I'm glad that we are married now," you said, put on joyfully. It disgusted you to even say such a thing. Your stomach rebelled against these words; they were not sincere and felt like knife wounds in your entrails. But that was your part in this play, you were the happy and grateful bride.  
"Don't lie to me," the dark voice suddenly growled and your smile died away. If you thought his gaze had been disparaging before, it was much darker now. Apparently he was not at all convinced of your lie, and he made that clear with a snort as he took a threatening step closer and made you retreat. "And do not worry, I will not touch you. ever."  
It was clear that he was referring to conjugal sex and domestic violence. You knew that he wanted to make clear his absolute disinterest in you and even if his gaze was more judgmental than you would ever have thought possible in a human being, a stone fell from your heart.  
At least I don't have to touch it, your inner voice sighed in relief.  
The finality in his voice determined this conversation to be over, so without another word you turned around and went back to the banquet table. You had to hope that he really remained true to this statement and didn't change his mind again at some point. Men had needs, even the commanders of Big Mom.  
  


_You always have to watch your back._

  
Your father had given you a lot of good advice, some less and some more helpful than others. You would not neglect your defense against your husband, not as long as you could not assess him. Either way, it would be very difficult to live with Katakuri. He was really opaque, with that piercing look and the few words that came out of him. The family raved about him, calling him 'perfect'. How perfect he really was, you didn't even want to know; you simply didn't want to spend time with this man. If you were lucky, you would hardly have to see him; after all, he seemed to have many duties.  
The gentle flicker of hope burned in your chest. Maybe you were able to avoid him all day long - surely there were several bedrooms on Flour Island! You did not have to share the bed with him!  
"There's the bride", you were greeted by Lola, chiffon and a bunch of happy kids when you reached the dinner. "Stole away to say goodbye to Katakuri?"  
"Hmm," you growled an indecisive answer to that question, but Chiffon took it well.  
"See, he's not as bad as you thought! That you are already taking care of him, how romantic...," she sighed rapturously. But Lola caught your gaze and you knew that she had perceived your answer as what it was supposed to be: I'm just playing my role here. I do not want to be here.  
While Chiffon was dreaming of her own wedding and the children were screaming in confusion about who was to be the flower girl or the ring bearer, your thoughts wandered a little. Exhaustion gnawed at your bones, as this day had been more than just exhausting and you had been on your feet since sunrise.  
"Lola, when will it all be over," you asked quietly and stroked a slipped strand behind your ear.  
"You must be really tired," you received a sympathetic answer. "Mom is almost finished with the cake, so I'm sure we can leave soon. I'll go and look for brother Daifuku, then we'll leave soon."  
You nodded gratefully and at the thought of a hot bath and a soft blanket your knees almost gave way. Your back began to hurt, the dress was pressing in so many places and your make-up had probably already run off. Was there a bathtub in Katakuri's house? If so, it was certainly big enough for you, considering that he was only two heads taller than you.  
But before you could collect yourself a little, you were attacked by Smoothie and Brûlée, who congratulated you and welcomed you into the family. They were still a little reserved, but something told you that they were trying to honestly welcome you into this family. This was probably more because Big Mom wanted you to be part of the Charlottes than because they did it on their own. In general, the women in the family seemed a little nicer, considering that hardly any of the male members were talking to you. While Oven had congratulated the 'happy' couple, his congratulations were cool and more Katakuri than you. And yet you had gratefully stood by your husband's side and bit your tongue to keep up a fake smile. Your tongue still ached and your mouth still tasted blood.  
  
  


_The taste of copper._


	3. Adjustment

A pleasant sigh escaped you as you glided into the hot water. In fact, there was a huge bathtub in Katakuri's big house and the maids had hurriedly drawn you a bath.  
The scent of flowers and something sweet rose to your nose as you sank into the water up to your chin. Scented oils and pleasant bath additives made this relaxing bath priceless after such a nerve-wracking day. Out of the corner of your eye you looked at the wedding ring on the small dresser next to the sink and snorted in frustration.  
Married.  
This was a fake marriage, nothing more. There was no love between you and Katakuri, not even the slightest hint of interest. You had to keep playing the bride to protect your home from Big Mom.  
"We picked out some clothes for you."  
You squeaked up in horror, jerked together and tried to slide as deep as possible into the bubble bath. A maid just walked in without knocking. It was a chubby woman and her stern look intimidated you a bit - who would enter a bathroom without knocking first?!  
"You can't go around in these old rags as the wife of the Commandant...," she continued undisturbed and grabbed your discarded clothes.  
"No, just a moment", you protested immediately. "I want to keep the clothes."  
The woman was irritated and looked for a moment at the rough things from your homeland. As a half-Russian, you wore comfortable clothes, practical. Not really very fashionable.  
"Then... I'll put these in the laundry," said the servant and took piqued care of your dirty clothes.  
As soon as you reached the house, you had taken off your wedding dress and put on your usual clothes. Although they were dirty from the trip to Big Mom's archipelago, even the sweaty clothes smelled familiar and like your home.  
Correction: Your former home.  
"Just leave them there," you tried to convince her. "I'll wear the new clothes, I promise."  
She hesitated briefly, but then nodded - after all, you were the lady of the house from now on.  
"My name is Magdalena," she imagined while she busily draped your new clothes on the dresser. "Magda is quite sufficient. I am in charge of this house when the master is not here."  
The Master.  
I see.

It was a loose white blouse and dark pants. The boots were fashionable, but also practical and comfortable. Were those spores on the boots? You had heard that sound at the wedding, too. Didn't Katakuri also have spores?  
Kind of... silly. You felt ridiculous with those things on your heels.  
But at least they were freshly washed clothes, and they fit quite well. Maybe a little worn, but better than nothing.  
In the meantime the sun had set and the first lights in the house were turned on. You slowly roamed the corridors, a little exploration to find your way around. Besides, you probably wouldn't sleep very well, so why not pass the time with some exploration?  
Granted, the house was nice. It was large, simply furnished and had large windows in almost every room. It was tastefully decorated and you had the faintest idea that this was not Katakuri's success.  
There was a large vestibule that led into several corridors - from there were several bedrooms, three large bathrooms and a dining room and kitchen. The ceilings were built high so that you could easily move around the house. Sometimes it was difficult to be a half giant considering your enormous height. Normal houses were usually too small for you, so you had to bend down and that could quickly end in back pain. But this house - it was so big!  
The tiles in the bathrooms and the floor tiles were bright white, so you felt a little sorry for the servants, after all they had to clean here. Would you, as the lady of the house, also help out? Probably not.  
"May I help you?" A young, blond maid had noticed your prowling and looked at you questioningly while she was cleaning one of the large windows. While marveling at the building you hadn't noticed her at all and you flinched in shock.  
"Ah- No, thank you," you replied immediately. "Well- Where am I going to sleep?"  
The young woman's face brightened as you asked the timid question.  
"Of course. Master Katakuri specifically requested that you be placed in the north wing of the house."  
Mm. Okay.  
You followed the blonde who eagerly led you through the corridors. Past the dining room, past one of the bathrooms - was it a small library? You never would have taken Katakuri for the type of guy who liked to read books.  
"Here, this is the bedroom. The bathroom is directly connected to the room, so it's all for you," she explained to you. Gratefully you nodded to her and entered your chamber. It was... simple. A bed, a cupboard, a small bedside table and the door to the bathroom. No pictures, no shelves, not even plants that would breathe some life into this room.

  
_Desolate. Empty._

  
"Miss, what would you like to eat?"  
Oh, Magda.  
"I have a choice?" you asked when you turned to her. She stood in the frame of the door, her stern gaze fixed on you.  
"Of course."  
"I see... Then just a light dinner, please. Something that's not sweet."  
Magda nodded silently and went to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Somewhat lost, you stood in your bedroom, not quite knowing what to do next. After such an exciting day, what was left for you but dinner and sleep?

Such a big bed, just for you alone. Even with your stately size you could easily roll around in it, unable to fall asleep.  
What a day: a wedding, a disinterested husband who hopefully would never show up near you and finally a new home where you knew no one.  
So this is what loneliness felt like.  
The sound of footsteps in the hallway made you sit up and take notice. Immediately you were wide awake and you looked at the door, under which a faint glow of light broke out. The footsteps in the hallway became louder, came closer - it was Katakuri. You could hear the soft, metallic jingling of the spores. Would he really come to you, into this huge, empty bed? In itself it was meant for two people... People who were taller than normal people.  
Your heart was beating up to your neck, and you could swear that you felt every pulse beat up to the tips of your hair. But the moment passed and the steps moved further away, down the hall until you could hardly hear them anymore.  
Relieved, you sank back into bed and sighed softly into yourself. So he did not sleep with you - thank God!  
And yet your eyes just wouldn't stay closed. The sounds of the house irritated you, they were so unfamiliar and new. The bedding was soft, much too soft. In the bed of your homeland the blanket was scratchy and made of wool, but you were used to it. This bed was far too luxurious for you, with too many pillows and two more decorative blankets. Why did one need so much bedding anyway...?

At five o'clock in the morning you gave up on wanting to sleep, only dozed off every now and then - but no sign of restful sleep. You peeled off the masses of bedding and groped tiredly into the bathroom. You brushed your teeth, made a makeshift hairstyle, and finally you slipped into your clothes from the day before. Admittedly, it really looked very fashionable. You wondered who the clothes belonged to before?  
After you got lost on your way to the dining room in the library, you found your way around - hoping that the staff hadn't seen your confused search for the dining room - and opened the large double door. It was so early in the day, were the cooks even working?  
Oh yes, they were. The big dining table was covered with all kinds of food, fresh fruit, rolls and even cornflakes in countless different varieties. Nervously, you lowered yourself onto a chair at the end of the table, when Magda already scurried to you and loaded you with a serving.  
"Good morning," she greeted you, but you had the feeling that this woman had never seriously called anything 'good' in her life.  
"Morning...", you muttered back and let your gaze wander over the extensive breakfast. Were those donuts?  
"Coffee?", Magda asked and held a pot under your nose. Nodding you agreed, after all, a little caffeine could work wonders so early in the morning. And damn, the coffee was good!  
"Thank you," you mumbled to the employee and started nibbling on an apple. Your appetite was still not satisfied.  
You almost choked on your hot drink when the door opened and Katakuri came into the dining room. He didn't seem at all surprised to see you here, grabbed one of the donuts and gave you a short, cold look. Immediately you dodged him, staring into your coffee cup. You clearly felt the aversion that emanated from him and if you weren't so intimidated by your new life, you would have let him feel your resentment. But you did not want to venture onto thin ice and were content not to look at him.  
He left the room again, without a word.  
"Miss Chiffon will be coming for you soon," Magda tore you out of your mourning and you looked up. "Since you have no talents worth mentioning in the production of sweets, you will help to care for the children."  
"No talents worth mentioning ...?", you asked. Magda nodded. "Fine, I'll watch the children, then."  
Wonderful, now you were allowed to play the babysitter for Linlin's youngest children. If they had inherited their mother's temperament, this task was not to be taken lightly. The girl from yesterday was quite lovable, even if the three eyes irritated you a little. But what could the poor thing do for her appearance?  
"Will Lola be there too?" You turned to Magda, who began to clear up breakfast in the face of your lack of appetite.  
"No, Miss Lola is the minister of chocolate. She has duties to perform." That almost sounded like babysitting wasn't a big job. Like they were assigning you some thing you couldn't possibly screw up. Were you really so little appreciated that you had to do the dirty work?  
This family became more and more repugnant to you.


	4. Marriage, marriage, marriage

"These are Pudding, Flambe, Myukuru and the twins Joscarpone and Mascarpone," Chiffon introduced the children one by one. You greeted the children with a smile and were immediately grabbed by pudding on the trouser leg so that it could pull you along. Excitedly, the children showed you the huge playroom, which was crammed to the ceiling with toys and all kinds of candy.  
Was this the right diet for children ...?   
"And this is my doll, look!", Pudding held a sinfully expensive porcelain doll out to you. The hair was cut off, the face scribbled with a black marker. Discontent arose when you saw the disfigured doll, was that normal for a child of her age?  
"Chiffon, tell me..." You watched the children play catch while you sat down next to the young woman at the coffee table in the playroom. "How come Lola is minister and you're not?"  
"Oh, I was," Chiffon replied, gazing affectionately at her little siblings. "But I would rather be here taking care of my brothers and sisters."  
"I see." A lie. How could anyone voluntarily spend all day with these little devils? They were loud, sticky, and you felt that Big Mom's influence had touched even those innocent little kids. Especially on pudding you had to keep an eye on, the girl was outwardly adorable, but something was wrong with her. She was spiteful. Sadistic? Maybe. Time would tell.  
"So, are you comfortable with Katakuri?" Chiffon asked to your side, and handed you some pastry for tea.

  
_No, I do not feel well. Not at all._

  
"It is okay. But we haven't spent much time together. He came home late and left early," you said evasively.  
"He's very conscientious. He has to be, after all he is almost the oldest," said your friend - was she really your friend? - and you saw that ecstatic look on your face again.  
My goodness, you thought grimly. You guys really idolize this asshole, huh?  
For a moment you scolded yourself for thinking something like that. If you ever heard a bad word about Katakuri, you'd probably be a head shorter.  
"I can hardly wait to get married," Chiffon continued. "I hope Mama chooses a good and honorable man for me!"  
"Did either of you ever really marry for love?" you asked quietly, while Flambe climbed onto your lap, ate a cookie from your plate, crumbling all over you.  
"Not that I know of. Well, some of Mom's children then fell in love with their partner during the marriage. Love is a habit, Compote always says."  
Your stomach sank a little at the thought. Chiffon was still very young, she didn't know what she was talking about. You would never fall in love with Katakuri, no matter how strong the habit became! Even if you saw each other every day, you would never love the ice block.

Because of your height, you were the perfect climbing frame, for better or worse. The whole morning the kids hung on your arms and legs, crawled around on your shoulders and only when it was time for their nap you could remove them from you. The children lay on some soft blankets in the playroom, each with a cuddly toy of their choice and blissfully asleep. As quietly as possible, you and Chiffon finally left the room to give the children their rest. It was nice to have something to do, but it did not stop you from brooding. Was this your daily routine for the rest of your life? Get up, watch the kids and go back to sleep?  
Awesome.  
"Come on, I want you to meet a sister while the kids are asleep. She just got in this morning from Fishman Island."  
Another sister. You couldn't wait to meet more people from that horrible family...  
Chiffon led you out of the palace, telling you insignificant details about the huge building and the Charlotte family itself. With not even one ear, you listened, nodded in places to make her feel you were genuinely interested.  
"Look, there's Cracker! Also one of the commanders," she tugged at your sleeve to draw your attention to the rather dainty figure of a soldier chasing some crew members around the courtyard of the palace. "Today he is even out without his biscuit armor! He rarely takes it off, you know."  
You didn't understand too much of the explanations, but nodded anyway.  
"How many commanders are there?", you asked hesitantly. Maybe you should listen a bit better, after all you had to learn a lot about this family to not step on anyone's toes.  
"Four. Snack, Cracker, Smoothie, and Katakuri," Chiffon enumerated as you followed your way to the island's small harbor. "Cracker is also the minister of biscuits, Smoothie the minister of juice."  
"Smoothie... The woman with the white hair, right?"  
"Exactly. She often visits the kids with Sister Brûlée, so you'll have plenty of time to talk!"  
So many brothers and sisters,so many things and names to remember. Maybe you should get a notebook?

A mermaid. You had never seen a mermaid before!  
Praline was half man, half mermaid - even if you didn't quite realize how it worked. She was already waiting for you at the harbor, greeted Chiffon stormy and she was also very friendly towards you. She started chatting right away, telling you a lot about the Fishman Island: how it looked like, that there were many beautiful mermen there and she couldn't wait for Big Mom to choose a husband for her. He should be strong and a good fighter.  
Did the women in this family only have marriage in mind?  
"Why are you even here?" you finally asked Praline, after she had finally finished her endless story about a beautiful dress in one of the stores. "The fish-man island is so far away."  
"Ah! Chiffon, you haven't told her yet?", Praline asked her sister immediately, furious. "Lola is also getting married in two weeks! Then you will no longer be the center of attention, I'm afraid."  
Thank God, was your first thought. Finally, some peace would return.  
"Really, Lola is getting married? Who?", you asked the pink haired woman next to you. Chiffon sighed up before she answered.  
"She is to marry the prince of giants! Mama has been wanting to form an alliance with the main tribe of the Giants for a long time - that's probably why she is interested in your father's tribe. Loki is really very fond of my sister," she explained hesitantly. "But Lola fights it tooth and nail."  
Hence Lola's aversion to marriage. From the beginning you had the feeling that she was not as enthusiastic as her younger twin sister Chiffon or probably all the other women in the family. So now Lola was forced into marriage, just like you. A marriage with someone she didn't love, just like you didn't love Katakuri. Shouldn't a relationship be based on trust and love and not be forced out of political necessity?  
"And if Lola refuses? She's Big Mom's daughter. She's hardly likely to kill her." Now Praline and Chiffon both looked at each other with a sad look.  
"Mama is not very patient," Praline admitted, wiping the water with her tail fin. "I can only hope that my husband will be a pirate with decency."  
It almost struck you a little bit, how hard Charlotte Linlin's children had it. With such a hot-tempered and angry mother, one misstep could mean death, even if it was her own child that died. You wondered if she had already killed one of her children. With the depressed faces of the two sisters, you already had a hunch.  
"We must go, the children will wake up soon and they won't listen to Mama's employees," Chiffon threw into the queasy mood and you waved goodbye to Praline. She looked a little strange and talked non-stop, but she seemed very nice.  
Lost in thought, you followed your companion back to the palace, pondering the strange quirks of this family.  
For Big Mom, weddings were a means to an end. Making and strengthening political connections was the ultimate goal.  
For better or worse, her children had to take the rap for it: Most of the male members of the family were extremely strong fighters, as were most of the daughters, of course. Those who could not fight too well were used for the production of sweets in the archipelago and married early. You got the feeling that Big Mom only had children to pursue her own purposes and to strengthen her forces.  
She disgusted you more and more.

Gently your fingertips ran over the covers on the shelves. The library was small, but offered enough reading material to keep you busy in the evening. Your new job as nanny for Big Mom kept you afloat during the day, but in the evening it was so quiet and peaceful in your room that it was unbearable.  
Only a few days later you went to the library for the first time and started to work on your reading material. Unfortunately, most of it was cookbooks and guides to home and garden - boring things. And yet you flipped through the pages, puffed through the recipes and at least looked at the pictures.

  
_Boring._

  
In the back shelves you found some dusty novels, all of them kitschy and completely dramatically constructed. When Magda saw you with one of the books in your hand, her ears were a little red, so you knew who these pieces belonged to. But the housekeeper said nothing to your desire to read and let you continue to explore the library night after night.  
After a short time, you got into the habit of taking an armful of books into your bedroom. Catering, as you called it inside.  
With a shaky stack - which completely obscured your view - you shuffled through the hallway, careful not to drop one of the many books. Since you now devoured almost an entire novel in the evening, you had to carry as much as possible on each of your supply tours.  
"Sister!" The sudden voice startled you terribly, so that you flinched and three of the precious treasures slipped out of your arms and finally landed on Lola's head, which had suddenly appeared around the corner of the hall.  
"Holy sh-! Lola," you shouted, your heart racing with fright. "You scared me almost to death, damn it."  
"I'm sorry!" said the young woman immediately and picked up the fallen books. "I didn't mean to."  
"It's okay," you muttered and looked down at her. "What are you doing here?"  
She nervously stepped from one leg to the other and swallowed.  
"I need your help."  
"So? What for?" In surprise, you raised your eyebrows. Why was she so nervous?  
"You are a giant."  
"Half giant."  
"Giants are strong."  
Now you were really curious what your sister-in-law wanted from you. You put the books on one of the windowsills and looked at Lola invitingly.  
"Okay, what's going on?" you asked. Lola gathered her courage and then looked at you with a look you would never forget.  
"Can you lift a small boat? I'll leave tomorrow and the boat must get to the port unnoticed."

  
Oh well, what do you know?


	5. Behave yourself

Sneaking away in the night was as brave as it was stupid. Of course you helped Lola to escape, you could feel the pain of a marriage of convenience. You wanted to spare the lovely young pirate from this suffering, so that she had persuaded you to leave the house only one week before the wedding when everyone else was already asleep. On tiptoe, boots in hand, you crept down the hall, the heavy key for the front door in one hand, a dark coat in the other. No one was allowed to see you, no one was allowed to know that you roamed the archipelago at night.  
You couldn't tell if Katakuri had already arrived home, you hadn't seen your husband for days - which was of course in your best interest. But should he find out about this action, it would not end well for you. Not to mention Big Mom's reaction to your assistance in escaping.

"Here?", you asked Lola and the boat slowly but surely slipped out of your hands. The giant-blood in your veins allowed you to carry heavy loads and you generally had more strength than normal people. Even if you were not an experienced fighter, you were certainly not defenseless!  
"Yes, that should be enough. Let's cover it with a tarp so I can set sail first thing tomorrow morning," Lola confirmed to you and you carefully set the little boat down on the shore of the island. It was well hidden between many storage boxes and a high bush, nobody would think that this was an escape boat. So close to the port, nobody would suspect a simple boat anyway.  
"And you are sure?", you asked again. "All alone?"  
"Of course! I can't wait to find the true love on my own", Lola raved and gave you a questioning look. "Won't you come with me? I see how unhappy you are here."  
Oh - what? Was it really so obvious? You always put on your best fake smile.  
"I don't know," you replied, rubbing your upper arm embarrassed. "I-I mean, I'd really like to get out of here. But if I really just disappear, my home is not safe."  
"All right, but when you think about it, you know where to find me in the morning."  
"Thanks, Lola. All the best." You'd really miss her, and you knew it was fitting to be happy for her. Then why were you so jealous of her bold plan?

  
_Because I'm too scared of Big Mom to run away._

  
  
The next morning you went to the palace as usual. It was still early, the day had just begun - but already your mood had reached a low point. That day you were accompanied by your husband who had something to do on the main island. Wordlessly you walked behind him as your way led you from the pier to the palace. The crossing from Flour Island could be shortened impressively by taking shortcuts and a really fast boat, but these were probably by far the longest two hours of your life. Unpleasant silence stretched time like chewing gum and since you both had nothing to say to each other the silence was probably inevitable.  
Hopefully you could go back home without him.  
"Hello Pudding", you greeted the little girl, who happily buzzed and jumped out of the big gate to the garden, holding a portion of cotton candy in her hand. She seemed strangely satisfied with herself and the world and looked up at you as you turned to her. The hearty smile gave way to a smug grimace that you didn't know from her - so she really was a little monster.  
"I have seen you!" she warbled to you. "Last night, from my bedroom, when you and Lola hid the boat in the harbor."  
Oh, no.  
That damn little monster!  
Katakuri stopped beside you, looked at pudding and then at you. The blood in your veins was frozen to ice and fear crept up your neck. That little snake didn't have...?  
A loud rumble and crash from the palace made the three of you look up. Big Mom's voice was clearly audible, it seemed to boil with rage. Lola's disappearance had already been noticed and if Pudding really did tell Mom about you, you were probably done for.  
"What's wrong with Mom," Katakuri turned to Pudding, who couldn't help but giggle and playfully wrapped a strand of hair around her finger.  
"Lola ran away to escape the wedding! She set sail this morning in a boat," she explained, and you could swear that Katakuri sighed annoyed under his scarf. "And your wife helped her do it!"  
Now his piercing gaze lay on you again, scrutinized you extensively and cold goose bumps made your skin almost tingle painfully. Silently you stood there, shocked by this unfortunate turn of events.  
And now? Would they kill you, lock you up or even worse - feed you to Big Mom?  
"Come." Katakuri put one hand on your back and pushed you forward energetically, but like an eel you turned away from his touch. This was the first time he had touched you in any way since the wedding - and you didn't like it one bit.  
"I can walk on my own," you grumbled, but he didn't allow dawdling. His angry charisma was enough to drive you on to the boat you had come on.  
"When mom gets her hands on you, you'll be her morning snack," growled Katakuri coolly, making you sit up and take notice in surprise.  
"Then why are you saving me from her?" Maybe there was a spark of compassion in him after all, maybe he understood your situation a little bit after all?  
"Because you are my wife." He stood in front of you and the wine-red eyes pierced yours in an icy way. "That means I am the one who punishes you for your missteps. Not Mom. Me."  
You swallowed until you reached your lower lip to distract your body with the pain. What would he do to you?  
With your eyes lowered, you folded your hands, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing your hands tremble.

  
The taste of copper.

  
On the way to the house he didn't say a word to you, but you could see his impatience. He held the door open for you, but certainly not because he wanted to be nice - that was supposed to be an intimidating gesture. You had to walk past him, the distance you had kept the whole time was destroyed. In the lobby you stopped and sparkled defiantly at him as he closed the door and took a deep breath.  
Yes, there was a lot of fear in you. Fear of what he would do to you.  
But you also wanted to stand up for Lola's brave decision. If you didn't have the guts to run away, at least you would support Lola!  
"Why did you help Lola?" he asked, his voice icy and yet as calm as possible.  
"Because I didn't want her to experience the same thing as me," you said and the lump in your throat hurt. Katakuri's eyes narrowed a bit and you felt that he lost patience with you.

  
_Behave yourself. **Behave yourself!**_

  
"She shouldn't just be assigned to a man like, oh, like a piece of furniture! She is not an object!"  
"Watch what you say," your husband snarled immediately and he came a step closer. Barely noticeable you flinched back, but your anger was unstoppable. You were tired of submitting, of being a prisoner in this terrible family! Big Mom could smear that stupid marriage of convenience in her hair!  
"Like hell I will!" you hissed in anger and clenched your hands in fists. "I loved helping Lola and I'd do it again!"  
He growled, slowly but surely, he seemed to be seriously irritated. His gaze was cold, pejorative and you saw how the anger in him began to boil. Calm and aloof, he had exactly the same rotten temper as his mother.  
"And you really think I asked to have a brick like you tied to my leg?" said Katakuri and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Far from it.  
"As if I had chosen you," you poisoned back. "I didn't want to marry you for a second!"  
"At least we agree on one thing," he rumbled and turned away. "And yet we must come to terms with it."  
"Why don't you kill me now, then we'll all be done with it," you muttered with tears in your eyes.  
"Leave the drama and go make yourself useful," you received in reply. "It's disgraceful the way you behave."  
"You should say so", you muttered, but he ignored your provocation to collect his thoughts.  
"You will stay here until this matter has blown over. You will not leave this house," was his decision.  
"You're grounding me?!", you asked, completely flabbergasted. What were you, 13?!  
"Until you know how to be a wife in this family - Yes. "You're grounded." In disbelief, you opened your mouth to protest, to ask him if he was crazy. Who the hell did he think he was, grounding you?  
Before you could say anything back, he was stomping down the hall, the spurs on his boots becoming quieter and quieter as he moved away from you. Judging by his body language, you really enraged him and that was the greatest satisfaction you had experienced since you arrived in that hellish archipelago. Damn it, it felt good to get him upset and to finally let the anger inside you vent. All the frustration, loneliness and anger about how unfair life was had found an outlet that day.  
Strangely enough, the fear had subsided. You used to flinch at the slightest noise or movement of Katakuri, but now - now you weren't scared to death anymore. If you could get away with such an action, then it was time for you to take your place in this damn dysfunctional family!

  
_The good behavior is probably off the table now._


	6. Stubborn women stick together

Two months had passed since Lola had left the country. As expected, your house arrest was more than just boring, the library simply didn't have anything new to offer. In the beginning, you had tried to sneak out secretly, be it through the back door to the garden or even through your window - but Magda had her eyes and ears everywhere. Every attempt to escape from you was thwarted, sabotaged or she scolded you until your ears bled; she didn't care one bit that you were the lady of the house.  
So little by little you were content to read the books of the library several times, even the ones that were boring to death. You had plenty of time, the whole day, to be more precise. Cookbooks, guides for the perfect cake and finally the garden books. You already knew the chapters about herbs by heart, but not because you would have died of boredom otherwise - the herb woman in your village had taught you many things. After all, a real semi-giant had to know which herbs helped the body!  
The following chapters on agriculture and farming were almost too boring - you flipped through the pages, snorting annoyed about the exact explanations of the correct handling of seeds - until you finally came to the chapter on wheat.

  
  
_Wait. Go back._

  
  
You hurriedly turned back three pages and read the summary of the chapter. Wheat: Basics, use. Cultivation, care, diseases, harvest.  
Katakuri was the minister of flour and what was flour made of? Damn right: Wheat.  
That was your way out of this cursed house arrest!

"Miss?" Magda opened the door to your bedroom and you looked up from your notes. You had papers all over the bed with all kinds of information, things worth knowing and tips about farming. Your research went well, but the urgency in Magda's voice surprised you.  
"You will leave for the palace immediately. Miss Charlotte will give birth to the newest family member very soon and the other children have to be supervised.  
"I thought I was to stay away from the children," you asked sourly, but Magda began to rummage in your closet and pick out clothes.  
"They will stay in the palace for several days," she continued undisturbed. "The master is informed. Not that it would bother him much."  
Scratchy cow. But she was right.  
Since Lola's disappearance, you and Katakuri had not spoken a word to each other, there was an icy silence in the house.  
"All right. If you have to," you grumbled and gathered up your documents. If you had to stay in the palace, you would take your work with you!  
For a moment the housekeeper looked at your mountain of papers, books and folders and decided not to criticize your chaos. Maybe she appreciated your efforts?  
As many things as Magda packed for you, you wondered how long your stay in the palace would last. And why did she pack one of the noble dresses?  
"Magda?", you asked hesitantly while stuffing your documents into a small bag. "How long will I stay on Whole Cake Island?"  
"At least a week." Now even the fine shoes? Why did you need such an elegant outfit? "Every birth is celebrated with a big banquet. You will attend, of course, as the wife of the commander."  
A banquet? Probably with Big Mom present in person? Oh, please don't...  
"Must I really?"  
Magda paused in her desert packing station and turned to you. The stern look softened a little when she saw your worried expression.  
"Miss, I know you're concerned about your well-being," she finally said. "But I can assure you, the safest place in the world is here, in this house. Or rather: At the side of Katakuri. He is a man of honor, he would never let anything happen to you - after all, you are his wife.  
"I doubt it," you replied shyly, but with a hint of bitterness in your voice. So she could be sensitive and motherly after all, who would have thought it. "I really made him very angry."  
"I won't say your decision to help Lola escape was very wise. but it shows a lot of compassion." She continued to pack your things and a spark of affection for the strict housekeeper overtook you. She seemed to sense your insecurity and wanted to reassure you. "It is very obvious that you do not feel comfortable here. It is not his job to mother you. I'm afraid that honor must fall to me."  
"I'm sorry," you mumbled embarrassed. Maybe you had really acted a little childishly, out of sheer frustration and stubbornness.  
"There's no need to be." A hand on your back made you look at the housekeeper, who tried to calm you down and talk your conscience at the same time.

  
  
_Like a real mother._

  
  
"Give this family a chance. If you keep a low profile, it's very pleasant to live here."  
"Thank you," you muttered and slipped into your boots. "Let's go greet the newest member of the family."  
Contentedly Magda nodded and pressed your packed suitcases into your hand. This self-satisfied expression from mothers who had successfully taught their children a lesson. With a stab in the chest you thought of your own mother, whom you missed very much. She had fallen in battle, just before your sixth birthday. Often you thought of her, missing a good and maternal advice on your way as a young woman in this cruel world. Magda's rebuke did you good - you felt lost and helpless, not knowing how to find your way in the Charlotte family. Everyone seemed to be against you, danger and intrigue lurking around every corner. But you still saw the members of the family as your enemies and maybe - but only maybe - you had to change your own attitude towards them? Not to assume the worst, but simply try to make friends with them?  
It was worth a try.

A girl.  
Big Mom's youngest daughter was an adorable girl named Anana. In your big hands, that little thing looked like a toy doll. As fragile as the baby was, you gave it to Galette as quickly as possible. You didn't feel very comfortable with such a fragile little life in your hands.  
The gathering of many female members of the family was a colorful mess. After everyone had looked at and adored little Anana, a big coffee party was held just for the daughters and wives of the Charlotte family. On the roof terrace there was a large table with all kinds of treats and sweets, tea and coffee. Relief overcame you when you saw that it was really just the close circle of the family and against all expectations Big Mom would not participate.  
No bad expectations, you admonished yourself and settled down between smoothie and compote. There was much chatting, eating and laughing. Smoothie asked you if Magda was still so strict, whereupon the two of you began a rollicking conversation about the ridiculously strict rules of the housekeeper. The great commander was extremely nice to you and after you had discarded your negative expectations you had to admit: They were all very nice to you. The ladies of the family made you laugh, always handed you tea and coffee and asked you how you were doing. The story with Lola was only waved away, everyone seemed to know that nobody could stop Lola and that she would find her way.  
Apparently, not everyone in the family agreed with Big Mom, but everyone appreciated the Yonkou very much - after all, she was the mother of many women present.  
"Say, how are you getting along with our brother?" Compote finally asked. "I heard he grounded you."  
You sipped your tea, tried to come up with an evasive answer so you could change the subject.  
"I got grounded. After the thing with Lola," you finally mumbled truthfully.  
"Our big brother may be perfect, but he's still a man," laughed Smoothie next to you. "House arrest, that's something only a man can think of."  
"That's right! If you sit around in your room for weeks on end, you can only get stupid ideas." Laughter filled the terrace and for the moment you felt really comfortable among all the friendly faces around you. Nobody picked on you because you helped Lola, nobody treated you like an outsider.  
"I made good use of the time," you said. "I started to learn about cereals, especially wheat."  
"Oh! So you want to enter the family business!" Cinnamon looked at you with joy in her eyes and saluted you with her milk tea. "Katakuri will be pleased."  
"Can he be happy at all?" giggled Citron beside her. "He's always so serious."  
"I think he will really appreciate that," said Smoothie thoughtfully. "He has many duties as minister of flour."  
You concealed your intention to get away from babysitting. Looking after the little ones was nerve-wracking and exhausting, maybe you had more of a future in producing flour for the archipelago? Growing wheat seemed to be more complicated than I thought, but with a little effort you could be a great help and finally you would be freed from your job as a guardian of the little devils.  
"You should talk to Katakuri about this tomorrow night at the banquet," Brûlée suggested. "I'm sure he'll be delighted."  
"We haven't spoken since that fight over Lola," you muttered in your teacup. "Not a word."  
Compote waved his smile.  
"He may be perfect and strong, but he's still stubborn. He was stubborn as a child," said the oldest of the Charlotte daughters amused. "Don't worry about that. This family consists only of stubborn people, so you fit in perfectly with us."  
She winked at you with an encouraging wink, and you stared thoughtfully into your hot beverage. The words of encouragement were meant so nicely and everyone seemed honestly glad that you joined the tea party. Should you really find your place in this family in the end?  
The banquet the next day would probably show everything else.


	7. Fear the irascible mother

To call the banquet a great feast was the understatement of the century. On the third floor of the palatial building was the inner garden: A huge room with cloud wallpaper, green grass and many flowers. To celebrate, the garden was decorated accordingly; never before had you seen such a long banquet table. Two long rows of tables were set up so that there was enough room for all the members of the family. Beautiful lanterns made of colorful paper hung from the ceiling, distributed a pleasantly warm light in the room and the white flowers shimmered like mother-of-pearl in the soft light.  
Your dress was cut too tight for your taste and the shoes had too high heels, making you stumble every now and then. Not only you wore an elegant outfit, many other members of the family had also dressed up. Apparently a birth was the biggest reason to celebrate.  
Galette intercepted you at the entrance, complimented you on your dress and also immediately bowed you over to the small group of women who were chatting. There was gossiping, bringing each other up to date, including you. They included you in the conversation, talked to you animatedly, and a smile was something you couldn't resist. You felt quite comfortable in the company of the ladies, almost in good hands. But since this was an official celebration, you were not allowed to choose your seat next to one of the female members, but had to sit next to your husband.

"I'd rather sit next to Chiffon," you muttered a little too loudly and got a cold look from Katakuri in return.  
"You're my wife, we sit next to each other."  
"More like roommate," you corrected him sourly, now in his direction. "Considering that we hardly ever see each other. Not that I'm complaining about it."  
He just snorted irritably and sipped his tea. Stealthily you looked over to him out of the corner of your eye, already a little curious what he was hiding under his scarf. Chiffon had told you that he never took the accessory off and hardly anyone knew what he looked like underneath, except the oldest of the family. But they didn't break their silence, so they thought it inappropriate to gossip about it.  
"I have a lot to do." What, was he trying to justify himself to you? How's that?  
"I know that. The flour. The wheat." Okay, now you're just teasing him. You should lay low a little bit. From your bedroom you saw the golden wheat fields of Flour Island and on a map you had studied the structure of the fields. There were five large wheat fields spread all over Flour Island and the total area was huge - after all, a lot of flour had to be produced. The fields had been planted about 25 years ago and in the meantime the island had changed a bit - it made more sense to move the fields, divide them into seven fields and change the irrigation system. If you were able to sell Katakuri your idea properly, you would finally be able to stop taking care of the children and on top of that you could stay on Flour Island, work from home.  
Most importantly, you wouldn't have to deal with that little monster called pudding anymore.  
"Katakuri." Finally you turned to him and looked at him, after all you wanted something from him. He should use you in the production of flour, after all you had some good ideas. "I have a favor to ask of you."  
"So friendly all of a sudden, huh?" he said, and you could swear that his undertone was more smug than usual. Apparently, he would enjoy this.  
"I spent a lot of time in the library."  
"I know."  
"And I did a lot of research there, and I finally decided that your way of managing the wheat fields is inefficient."  
Okay, that came out a little wrong. The cold look confirmed that you were probably expressing yourself too directly. Okay, you could probably save that!  
"Anyway- I want to help grow the wheat."  
"No." No? Just "no"?  
"Why not?" you asked, but Katakuri didn't answer. He turned away, began a brief conversation with Oven. Was he offended?!  
If you looked at Katakuri without prejudice, he was a rather simple man. His movements were always controlled and absolutely perfect. He was the quiet type, very taciturn and when he said something, it was to the point. At first his charisma had intimidated and even frightened you, but after almost three months of marriage you began to appreciate him. Sure, it would be stupid to openly argue with him; Katakuri was one of the highest ranking members of the family, husband or no husband. If you openly resisted his wishes, sooner or later there would be serious consequences for you. It was a miracle that you had escaped with the aid of Lola's escape anyway. Your goal to finally do something meaningful was driving you and you wouldn't give up that easily. Of course, you had expected a 'no', but it put a damper on you.

  
_Be persistent!_

  
The food was - as expected - delicious. Finest ingredients were used by the cooks to prepare various dishes. Sweet, hearty and even spicy food was served and for a moment you were overwhelmed by all the smells and the great selection. After Linlin had officially opened the dinner, the alcohol was already flowing and the meal became more and more a real party.  
Sitting next to you was Perospero, a man you hadn't had much contact with yet. He was the oldest of the siblings and was, well, like so many members of the family, a little strange. He was polite, asked about your well-being and made small talk about the islands of the archipelago with you. Nice he was, but really very strange - and dangerous, said your inner voice. You had to watch out for him.  
Unpleasant goose bumps crawled high above your neck, tingling with respect and making you put away your cutlery. Something was not right. It was more a bad gut feeling than a direct hunch, and yet it was getting stronger and stronger. You felt Katakuri flexing the muscles next to you in anticipation - before you knew it, a shadow appeared behind you and Big Mom had already grabbed you. She grabbed your forearm and pulled you up with ease until you even lost the ground under your feet. Your whole body weight had to be supported by your shoulder joint and the pain was beating the breath on your lungs. The exuberant mood of the celebration was abruptly interrupted by the incident and everyone present watched what would happen next.  
"Mom, it hurts-" you begged and bit your lip. "Please, don't!"  
"So it hurts you," Charlotte Linlin asked, hardly seemed to get tired of your pain. "So much pain that you wish you hadn't helped Lola escape?"  
So she was vindictive, which was to be expected. She pulled you a little higher and a whimper escaped you - it hurt so terribly!  
"I'm sorry, please! Let go of me!"  
"Mom!" Katakuri finally stood up and took a step towards the scene. "Dessert is served."  
Luckily for you, Linlin let go of you when she heard the word 'dessert', her grip loosened and you fell a half meter back to the floor. Your legs gave way and two arms grabbed your waist to keep you upright. Katakuri held you down, helping you find the strength in your legs and stand alone. With a soft groan, you rubbed your throbbing shoulder, writhing out of your husband's firm grip. The rest of the guests continued their conversations, eating and drinking as if nothing had happened, and yet they kept looking over at you.  
"I want to go home," you whispered, unable to bear the family glances on you any longer. "Katakuri. Please."  
He hesitated, looking around as unobtrusively as possible. Although all of Big Mom's children knew her rabid impulses, curious eyes were still on you. Tears dripped down your cheeks, fell on your dress, and left small, dark spots on the fabric. It hurt so terribly. The throbbing in your shoulder, the looks of the others and above all the humiliation.  
"We're leaving." Katakuri put one hand on your back and pushed you in front of him. This time you didn't turn smoothly from his touch, let him lead you through the garden.  
"I want to go home," it escaped you again, even though it was meant more for you than for him.  
"I know." His voice was cool and distant as ever, but no pejorative remark came from him. Apparently, he knew Mom's tantrums only too well, even though he didn't want to let on that he knew. In his straight forward look you could see that he knew what it was like to be the target of her anger. The way the pirate treated her children, there were probably some unpleasant stories in Katakuri's past.  
You couldn't stop crying with the best will in the world. Of course, Katakuri had to be annoyed by your howling, after all he was such a serious man who had no patience for weaklings. But he didn't say a word, not even a side glance was thrown to you.

"It's nothing too bad," Magda said as she examined your shoulder more closely. Housekeeper, surrogate mother, and also well-versed in medicine, who would have thought it? "The muscles and tendons will only be a little overstretched, no need to worry."  
"Thank you," you muttered to her and looked out of the corner of your eye at the door. Katakuri leaned against the frame, his arms crossed and he seemed to be brooding. You were surprised that he kept an eye on you since you had returned to Flour Island, but after that terrible day you almost didn't care. You just wanted to sleep.   
"Thanks for your help, Katakuri." The words almost stuck in your throat, you were uncomfortable to thank him after the long time of silence. "I really appreciate it."  
"You can forget it," he replied coolly and turned away. "But if you pull another stunt like Lola's escape, you'll be in trouble."  
Magda scurried out of the room, seemed to clearly feel the anger between you, and if you had been her, you probably wouldn't want to be in the crossfire either. You stood up and stared frustratedly at Katakuri's back. The vest with the embroidered name 'CHARLOTTE' stared back, almost mocking you. His statement once again stirred up your anger, but he had the upper hand in this situation. You should refrain from impertinent remarks.  
"I was happy to help Lola," you said and wrung your hands. "But I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble."  
Silence - he hesitated to answer you. Would he refuse your apology? You had gathered all your courage and forced the words over your lips with difficulty.  
"You can do the paperwork."  
"What?"  
"I don't care if you do all the paperwork on the deliveries. But hands off the production of the flour," he said emphatically. You smiled gratefully, even though he wasn't looking at you. He took a step toward you, even though you had made such an enormous nonsense. Against all expectations, should Katakuri have a good side after all?  
"Agreed."

  
_A truce._


	8. Curiosity killed the cat

"What? No, not there!" you scolded the foreman. "The seed should go to field B! I told you that several times - I even wrote it down!"  
The foreman apologized and instructed his men to reload the several tons of seed. Annoyed, you rubbed the bridge of your nose and watched the whole thing.  
Six months had passed since Katakuri had agreed to let you help in the production of the flour. Processing the deliveries had been monotonous and boring, but after a few weeks you had managed to gain his trust. Quickly you rose to the top, getting more and more involved on Flour Island. Your husband would never admit it, but he was happy to be relieved by your help. It was also fun to actively help with the production of the flour.  
Through your new occupation you were much more balanced. Although there was a lot to do and your days often ended after midnight, it was good not to sit around all day or watch the children. After a total of nine months as part of the Charlotte family you had settled in very well. Magda was strict as always, you visited Chiffon as often as possible to have tea with her and even your relationship with Katakuri had improved. It was still a marriage of convenience, but at least you found a neutral tone.  
Ah, if one spoke of the devil.  
"What's the point of the seed here," Katakuri rumbled angrily as he entered the forecourt to Field D. "Shouldn't the seed go to the northern part of the island?"  
"That's what I just told Yoku," you sighed and checked the seed delivery list again. "I also told him right away that he could recharge everything."  
"Then we'll be late." He sounded annoyed, as usual. You had learned to ignore that, because even if he was incredibly serious all the time, he was actually really nice. Well, unless you helped one of his sisters escape again and thus prevented the alliance with the Giants... On top of that, Big Mom had tried to pass off chiffon as Lola, which finally made the Giants turn their backs on Big Mom. So you were still the only giant - half giant - in the family and Big Mom tried to get along with you again. After her anger over Lola's disappearance subsided, you were regularly invited to her tea parties, although you were happy to use your assignment on Flour Island as an excuse not to attend.  
"My proposal for the conversion of the fields is still standing," you warbled softly with a side glance at your husband. He snorted and gave you an impatient look.  
"No."  
"I only mean. I'm going home anyway, my project awaits."  
"Project, my ass." Katakuri teased you. "Your flowers, you mean."  
"Hey, I'm researching", you insisted on the importance of your project but he rolled his eyes.  
"Of course you are."  
In fact, you were really researching. The small greenhouse in the garden of your house was dusty but still usable. Without further ado, you had set up there and started planting all kinds of herbs, flowers and grains. Intimidated by your own plans at first, you soon realized that it was not that difficult to grow grain. Your wheat was growing in manageable quantities, but they were golden ears like the ones in the fields of Flour Island. Soon you wondered how far you could improve the production and achieve higher yields. In the greenhouse it was easy to observe and change the growth of the plants, but how would that be possible in the fields? This thought still occupied you and a solution was still not within reach. But you had time, plenty of time to think about it.

"Okay, so half a ton for the Whole Cake Island pantry should be ready to go the day after tomorrow," you muttered and made a note on your clipboard. "I'll tell the warehouse guys to put something aside just in case."  
"Just in case?" Katakuri looked it up. Like almost every evening, you two sat together at the dining table, enjoying Magda's delicious tea and discussing the day's business. Little by little you found your way around Flour Island better and better. The five large wheat fields produced grain permanently, which was only possible with a special fertilizer. The harvest was done in a rotation system, so that at least one field was always in full bloom and one was always ready to harvest when flour was urgently needed. Big Mom's seizures were notorious all over the archipelago and you were happy that you had never experienced such a seizure before. And yet you had to consider such situations when more flour than usual was needed and within a few hours. It was a big responsibility for you, but it was a task you were happy to take on to prove yourself.  
"Call me paranoid, but I want to have enough in storage," you said, sipping your tea. "Another half-ton should be enough for now as a reserve."  
"Very perceptive of you."  
"Go ahead and make fun of me," you grumbled and looked at your notes again.  
"I'm not."  
You looked up, gave him a surprised look and kept quiet. Did he mean it or was it a cruel joke? An honest compliment from Katakuri - never.  
Many times you had repeated your proposal to him: shift the fields, make five into seven and rebuild the irrigation system. It was a good idea, production could be increased by up to 15% - but Katakuri turned it down every time. You didn't know why he was so reluctant to accept your proposal, you just wanted to help him; you wanted to find your place in this family, even if it was in the not very exciting production of flour. At some point he had to realize that you were right!  
"Katakuri"  
"No." Oh, he knew full well you were gonna bring it up again. Damn observation shakies, sometimes his forward-looking look really got on your nerves. He knew what you would say, he knew how you would react and he could act with foresight. For him this ability was certainly useful, especially in fights - sometimes you got on your last nerve. Hearing a 'no' before you even asked a question was just annoying.   
"Can you spare some time tomorrow," you asked and rose from your chair. Your 'research' was beginning to bear fruit and if you were really successful, it would mean a big step in flour production.  
"Time for what?"  
"I want to show you something in the greenhouse."  
Katakuri hesitated, seemed to consider whether he really wanted to sacrifice his valuable time to your gimmicks. He didn't think much of your work with the plants in the greenhouse, and he seemed convinced that you couldn't accomplish anything too big. In fact, the opposite was true: you had actually been working on something pretty impressive for four months. If your husband didn't agree with your first proposal to change the fields, he had to accept this new thing!  
"We'll see if I have time."  
Like you're going to have to drag him into that dusty little greenhouse. But all in good time - patience was the key to this man and his moods.  
"Can I ask you something personal?"  
"No."  
"So yes. Why do you always wear that scarf?" Curiously, you pointed to the flashy accessory. Nine months of marriage and you still didn't know his face. It was none of your business, and yet you wanted to know. Why did he hide behind the fur-trimmed fabric anyway?  
"It's none of your business," you got the expected answer. So that was one more thing you had to persist with to get your way.  
"I am your wife," you sulked playfully and gave him an amused look, which he did not return with the same cheerful sparkle.  
"As if that meant anything," growled Katakuri and finally stood up, seemingly unable to bear your curiosity any longer.  
"Don't be so mean," you said, his bad mood hadn't bothered him for a long time. "After all, it's our wedding anniversary soon."  
Your husband hesitated briefly, looking at you with a sidelong glance. He seemed to have completely forgotten that and if you hadn't talked to Smoothie about it recently, this day would have passed you by. Of course you didn't plan any big surprises for your wedding day, because after all it was not a real marriage.  
"Wedding day," snorted Katakuri contemptuously before he left the dining room. For a moment you stirred the rest of your tea, which had cooled down in the meantime, with your spoon and lost yourself in your thoughts.  
Something in his eyes and voice was so bitter and serious. Of course he was older than you, had been through many fights and surely Katakuri had experienced many unpleasant things. You had noticed the scars on the sides of his face early on, because they were visible behind his cloth facade.  
Was that it at all? Was the scarf a front to keep strangers out?

Bored, you strolled through the corridors, not quite knowing what to do. Saturday nights weren't very challenging on Flour Island, mostly you were reading in the library and Katakuri buried himself in his bedroom after your week's meeting. It was also raining cats and dogs outside, one of the few rainy days of the summer season.  
You hummed softly, walked down the hallway until you finally reached the south part of the house. Your attention was caught by the ajar door to your left and through the gap in the door you saw your husband's bedroom for the first time.

  
_Curiosity killed the cat._

  
The splash of water still reached your ears through the crackling rain and you peered through the crack of the door again. Just a small glance, nothing more. That couldn't hurt anyone, could it?  
Slowly, thoughtfully, you stretched your head into the room and waited to see if anything happened, but nothing did.  
So far, so good.  
The splashing came from the bathroom, which was right next to the bedroom - just like you did. So the bedrooms were all the same, even the furniture was in the same place. Such a simple interior design was to be expected from him!  
Your eyes fell on the bed - and you saw the vest and the scarf. Your curiosity vibrated under your skin and you finally crept all the way into the room, on tiptoe of course. With careful movements you went to the bed, ready to run out of the room in case the door to the bathroom suddenly opened. You reached for his scarf and examined the piece for the first time at close range. The fur was so soft between your fingers, it was almost fluffy. The scarf was already old, partly frayed and had some holes. It was a pity to hide it because of its length, but it was a pity for his favorite piece of clothing.  
A nervous look to the bathroom - Katakuri seemed to be someone who enjoyed long baths - and you were sure that you could quickly mend this huge gaping hole. You were indeed skilled with the needle and after he took you into the production of the flour, you still owed your husband a nice gesture.  
Without further ado, you picked up the huge pile of fabric in your arms and rushed to your own bedroom where your sewing clothes were lying.


	9. One step forward

Satisfied, you hummed your song to yourself, while the needle in your hand disappeared again and again in the fabric. A long seam would soon make the huge hole in Katakuri's scarf disappear completely, even if the seam itself was a little crooked. Well, not everything could be perfect.  
The click of the door handle made you jump in shock and immediately you looked at the door of your bedroom.  
Oh dear, busted.  
"Are you serious?" Katakuri asked with suppressed anger in his voice. He stood leaning against the door frame, covering his mouth with his forearm. The fact that you had kidnapped his scarf just like that seemed to make him seriously angry and you felt terribly sorry for your 'good idea' at that moment. To annoy him was not your intention for once, you just wanted to be nice. So that's what you get for trying to be friendly - it backfired.  
"You steal my scarf? Why the hell-", his tone of voice was heated and it was the first time you experienced him so emotionally. Otherwise Katakuri was always calm, the epitome of calm and concentration. He took a step towards you, kept hiding his mouth from you and for some reason his mistrust hurt you a little.  
"I sew the holes," you protested vigorously in the face of his unusually open rage. "The piece is already completely torn to shreds. I was only trying to be nice, damn it!"  
"I don't need any half-baked kindness from you." His voice became pejorative, downright snide towards you. Your hand paused and you looked up with all your attention, up at Katakuri. He met your kindness with rejection and as hurtful as it was at first, he was not wrong. It was probably too brazen to simply steal his scarf and run away with it, he must have been a little angry.  
There was one thing that made you wonder in this situation: he was defensively angry. He was upset about your stupid idea, but you felt something in his charisma and his voice. Even without the scarf he hid his face from you, being careful that you couldn't see an inch.  
"Give it back to me," Katakuri said with an urgency in his voice that sent a shiver down your spine. He could cover it up with as much rage as he wanted.  
  


  
_Insecurity. He is insecure._

  
  
Katakuri stretched out his arm, held an open hand out to you - it couldn't be any clearer. He wanted his wall back, with which he could shut out everyone around him. He wanted his protection back, wanted to be the perfect commander again.  
"No," you replied curtly, looking back at your lap to finish the work on the cloth. Two red eyes stared at you in surprise.  
"No?!", he repeated your sparse answer, even more upset than before. So if he wanted to, he could be really emotional. Who would have thought that?  
"I'm almost finished, can't you wait another five minutes?" He didn't seem to be, because he came a little closer and grabbed the scarf with his free hand. You were faster, swerved a little backwards and by one millimeter he missed the valuable piece of clothing.  
"Katakuri, whatever reason you have such a problem with someone seeing your face - it certainly doesn't bother me," you tried to reassure him. Your husband hesitated, seemingly weighing his options.  
Finally, he lowered his arm so that you could see the lower half of your face for the first time. Two long fangs leapt into your eye and briefly you looked up from your work. Well, that was unexpected. The scars were familiar to you, of course, you could always see them flashing out from under the scarf - but the teeth were really something special.  
"And? May I continue sewing now," you asked, completely untouched on the outside. Then he just had fangs, who cared. Besides, it didn't look so bad, it somehow matched his broad jaw.  
Katakuri looked at you briefly, from top to bottom. As if he couldn't believe that you didn't run screaming out of the room or make fun of him.  
"Fine." You sat down on the bed and continued patching the scarf. Your husband stood a little lost in the bedroom, not quite sure what to do with himself. You looked up from your work and knocked on the mattress, a sign for him to join you. He followed your invitation and you felt the bed next to you drop a little as he joined you.  
He watched your hands attentively at work and the big hole in the scarf disappeared little by little until it was finally mended.  
"Done." You put the piece of cloth around his shoulders and pulled it up so that he disappeared halfway behind it, as usual. "And don't shred the good piece right away."  
He remained silent, one hand in the soft fur of the shawl. Not a word of thanks, but you did not expect that either. That's the way Katakuri was and he would probably never change.

The next day was uneventful, until the evening. Magda came to you and held a letter under your nose. Surprised, you accepted it, since you had never received any mail since your wedding. Curious, you immediately opened it and began to read who was writing to you at all.  
  


  
_Dearest sister,_

_I am very worried because you have not written to me yet. Father is as worried as I am, if not more so. Please write back when you have received this letter._   
_How is your new life? Is your husband nice to you? Father says that if your husband does not treat you well, he would send Floki and his best warriors to bring you back to us! It's terribly lonely without you after Hilda set sail four months ago to travel the world. Now my two big sisters are gone and I am terribly bored here in the castle._   
_Floki often asks for you. He can't wait to bring you back, even by force if necessary, he says._

  
_You pulled a little face as you made your way back to your bedroom. It was nice to hear from your sister that she seemed to be doing quite well and that your second sister Hilda had tackled her dream of sailing. But that Floki inquired about you did not please you very much, because the hot-headed warrior of your tribe was not necessarily known for his farsighted actions._

  
_Please write me back soon, we really care about you._   
_Fondest regards,_

_Hannah_

  
  
Slowly you let the paper sink and sighed up. The fact that your family was worried didn't surprise you, but how could you make them understand that you liked it here on Flour Island quite well by now? In the beginning it was hell on earth, but little by little you really settled in and even became fond of some of the strange members of the Charlotte family. Katakuri was a stubborn one, but actually quite easy to get along with if you had a little patience and you got used to his presence. Since the story with the scarf the day before, you felt even more comfortable, because it was a kind of sign of confidence that you knew the 'dark secret'. At least that's what you thought, because who knew how Katakuri really ticked. To call him a complicated soul was an understatement, because on the outside he was so stoic, perfect and untouchable - and yesterday you saw a glimpse of humanity under the surface, proof that he was more than just Big Mom's commander. He was a human being and whether he wanted to or not, he too had feelings.  
In that letter there was one more thing that worried you: Floki. He was a great warrior, strong as a hundred men and fearless in every battle. Of course your father would send him, should you be the helpless maiden in need, the lady in desperate need of rescue. But that was not the case - you were definitely old enough to take care of yourself and you were doing very well here on Flour Island. Your father cared about his eldest daughter, he wanted to protect you and that warmed your heart. You really missed him terribly, but what could you do about it? This archipelago was your home now, period.  
You decided to reply to the letter before Hannah worried any more and in the end sent Floki to bring you back. The warrior would try to leave no stone unturned and given the strength of Big Mom's children, he would lose. Since Mom was so terribly hot-tempered, it would also have consequences for your homeland, a fact you had to avert. But what could you write? That you could live happily in this forced marriage and that it wasn't so bad to be married to a complete stranger - they never bought that. Damn it, you were hopelessly confused about the development of the whole thing and still didn't really know where up and down was in your life. On the one hand you missed your home village painfully, but on the other hand you had made friends with some of the Charlottes and the relationship with Katakuri had reached the status of a big question mark. You didn't hate him - well, not anymore - and with every day you worked together you started to like him more and more. Looking behind the facade, he was a loyal man, always eager to stand up for his family and fight for those he cared about. Could he really be a bad person if he stood up for his family like that? Never had he treated you badly for no reason, never had he forced himself on you in any inappropriate way; you could have done worse in terms of a husband.  
But how did you teach this to your sister and father, when they were convinced that you were married to a monster?

  
  
_Dear Hannah,_

_please don't worry about me. I'm doing very well, I got a good job here and have a lot to do - probably the reason why I haven't written to you yet._   
_My husband Katakuri is very good to me, so please don't worry about me. He leaves me alone for the most part and I have never felt harassed by him. Please also tell my father that he should not send Floki here under any circumstances, it will only cause trouble!_   
_Married life is not as terrible as I thought in the beginning, I only have sporadic contact with Katakuri, so there is no reason to worry. In fact, we have become friends and I am really starting to like him._

  
  
You suddenly regret the last sentence you wrote. To like Katakuri was one thing, but to put this thought on paper caused an unpleasant feeling in your stomach area. As if you were catching yourself doing something inappropriate, something that shouldn't be. Quickly you took a new piece of paper and wrote the letter again, this time without the last sentence that made you uncomfortable.


	10. All hell breakes loose

The weather on Flour Island was a mystery to you. It was January and yet it was a pleasant 20 degrees outside, the sun was shining and you couldn't even dream of snow. Katakuri had explained to you that Big Mom, with the help of her helpers Zeus and Prometheus, was actually influencing the weather to ensure the growth of the grain. You enjoyed the nice weather, but a really white winter landscape sounded quite tempting to you. Warm cocoa, cozy sweaters and a warm scarf, just like Katakuri had... You sighed, that would probably remain a pipe dream. Flour Island was always in the state of a pleasant early summer, the perfect weather to grow grain quickly and produce as much flour as possible. It was a pity about the hot cocoa anyway.  
  


"I told you to smoke outside!" Angrily, you grabbed Yoku by the collar, the foreman of the mill. Contrary to your naive expectations, it was not a large windmill that prepared the flour, but a modern factory. The millstones were huge, the flour was sifted very neatly, and finally sent to another part of the plant for packing. It was loud in the huge hall, the air was dry and full of flour. If you spent more than an hour in the factory, you were already covered with fine, white dust. Normally it was your job to take care of the deliveries to the other islands of the archipelago, but since Katakuri had an important appointment with Smoothie on Whole Cake Island, you had to step in and supervise the factory that day.  
Yoku was a good foreman, but his habit of smoking in the factory was as unsanitary as it was dangerous. The air was so filled with traces of flour that a flour explosion was quite possible - after all, flour was highly flammable in its pure form. Katakuri could see many things ahead through his observation shaki, including such catastrophic things as accidents in the factory. But also his abilities were limited, he could only foresee things that happened directly in his environment and since he was not in the factory, you didn't want to take any risks.  
"Get out of here, go," you shooed Yoku outside, who blew a grumbling cigarette smoke in your face. What an idiot!, you thought, waving your hand in front of your face, trying to get rid of the stench.  
"The shipment for Cocoa Island is ready." Another worker appeared behind you, pointed to a pallet of freshly packed flour and waited for your further instructions.  
"By the way, that was supposed to go out today," you muttered and leafed through the papers on your clipboard, somewhat lost. Keeping track in the factory was exhausting, something was always to be done, something always went wrong. Deliveries threatened to be late, workers overdid their breaks and to be honest - everyone was dancing on your nose. Before Katakuri, all the workers had respect, but you were 'only' his wife. Nobody really took you seriously and people made you feel that. As a woman, it was really not easy in the Charlotte family!

  
There was a small office in the factory, a place that was crammed full of files, documentation on deliveries, and on top of it all, all papers were unsorted. So this was the real dark secret of Katakuri Charlotte - his organization of the documents was a real tragedy! Not perfect at all, Big Mom's unbeaten commander was far from perfect. In fact, he was an extremely orderly man, always careful to keep up appearances and that absolutely everything about him was flawless. But after you saw his paperwork for the first time, you started to really like him despite the chaos. Even Katakuri had his bad habits, even he had weaknesses like a normal person. A fact that made him more likeable to you.  
Unfortunately for you, this one weakness was a big part of your work. You began to look through the countless piles and stacks of papers, looking for the note for the upcoming orders. There was indeed a system in this chaos - not a very orderly one, but it was a system. Apparently, your husband simply didn't have the time to sort through it all thoroughly and file it neatly in the file folders. You should offer him your help, after all, the idea with the scarf had gone pretty much to shit. For a moment the thought of his unusual teeth flashed through your head and you paused in your movements. His secretiveness did not let you go, you did not understand why he hid his mouth from the family. It was probably because he was considered perfect and the huge scars did not fit into the picture of a model commander. It was sad that he was not allowed to be himself.  
A glance out of the small office window made you growl in a huff - Yoku was already smoking again in the factory. Meanwhile, a worker was lurching around behind him, a big sack of flour in his arms - until finally the sack of flour slipped out of his hands and hit the floor.  
You saw the dust cloud of flour, saw the lighter in Yoku's hand strike a spark before a small flame came out of it.  
It was clear what would happen next.

  
  
_Shit._

  
  
Flour explosions were short, bright and hot. Once ignited, the flour caused a tremendous stabbing flame that was only too happy to spread to other things. Two hundred kilograms of flour were waiting to be charged and delivered, in direct contact with a tongue-in-cheek flame.  
You didn't need an observation shaki to know that this would end badly. Katakuri could certainly have prevented it, but you couldn't see into the future. You didn't know how it would end or what exactly would happen next - but when the glass of the window shattered under the force of the explosion, when the heat burned the air from your lungs, you quickly realized that it would not end well.

You opened your eyes a crack wide and took a frantic, deep breath. The air smelled like burnt plastic, smoldering metal and another acrid, caustic stench penetrated your nose. Every breath hurt and only when you managed to open your eyes completely, you realized why. The shock wave had pressed you against the wall, shards of the window were in your arms, leaving small wounds and cuts. At first sight your injuries were only half as bad, but the bright ringing in your ears was disturbing. Was it just a hearing loss or had the noise really affected your eardrum?  
You raised your arm, wanted to palpate your face for injuries, but a blinding pain kept you from doing so. In your left shoulder was a shard of glass almost as big as your hand. Just below your collarbone only the last end of the shard stuck out, drilling more into your muscles with every movement. You had often read about painful injuries, even one or two major aches and pains from fights at home - but the real pain of a deep wound was far beyond your imagination. Stinging and burning with every little movement made you whimper, it drove tears into your eyes. And yet you had to get up, you had to get out of the burning factory. Was the whole building already burning? Or was it only a small part of the plant, so that production could soon continue?  
Under countless curses you straightened up, tried to find a firm hold on both your legs. Nausea pushed itself into your throat and you tried with all your strength to ignore the blood on your top. Seeing and smelling your own blood was disgusting, and your shocked thoughts were worried whether Magda would scold you a lot, after all, blood was not easy to wash off.  
Step by step you fought your way through the charred papers, leaned panting on the small desk and took a look through the destroyed office door into the factory building. Burning sacks of flour lay scattered everywhere, unburned flour covered the floor so that it almost looked like snow. Fortunately, the hall was almost empty at lunchtime, so the personal injury would be minimal.  
Three motionless bodies were lying at the gate of the hall, that must have been Yoku and the other two workers. The explosion had shredded one of the exhaust pipes on the ceiling, hence the enormous shock wave. Two steel beams were hanging down, threatening to break out of their anchors and fall into the middle of the hall. You watched the imminent danger suspiciously, trying to assess whether it was safe to cross the hall. The loose beams on the ceiling rumbled, the sound of yielding metal penetrated through the numbness of your ears - however strong the steel beams might be, sooner or later the anchors would give way. Your giant blood had saved you from the worst damage, but a huge metal bar that hit you in the head? That would leave a huge dent even in you.  
A sudden movement in the hall made you look up. One of the workers was still alive!  
As fast as you could, you crossed the hall, your free hand on your injured shoulder and your eyes on your target. The air was much too hot to breathe properly, much too dusty and the coughing became stronger with every second. But if someone besides you had escaped with their life, you couldn't just leave them behind!  
"Hey," you grunted at the worker as you crouched down next to him. His head was injured, a small pool of blood had already formed on the floor. He was still moving, but he didn't react to your attempts to speak to him. Gently you shook his shoulder, but he just didn't wake up. How could you get him out of here if you were injured yourself? You couldn't just leave him here alone, let him die...  
At a loss, you knelt beside the worker and the minutes passed. The fire continued to eat its way through the hall - not at an alarming speed, but it didn't want to go out on its own. Feverishly you thought about what to do, carefully weighing every option. Either you waited for help, or you had to get it out of the factory somehow.  
A sudden crack made you look up and one of the two steel beams began to sway threateningly. The metal bar was already hanging far into the room, held in place only by some rivets. It was hovering right above you and the worker, and if it really should fall, you would be buried under the beam.  
Frightened, you thought of your bad mood in the morning - as if you knew that this day would not bring any good. As if you had known that you would be buried under a damn steel girder that day. The anchorage broke with a crack, the steel beam swayed, shook - until it finally lost all grip on the ceiling and the adrenaline shot through your body. You got up in panic, did the only thing that came to mind: You raised your arms, ignored the screaming pain in your shoulder and caught the huge metal bar. The giant blood in your veins not only made you great, but also the raw power in your muscles. Even in your limited condition you caught the steel beam, even if it took all your willpower not to bend your knees. Pain flooded your brain, fresh blood dripped from your shoulder to the ground and your muscles trembled under the enormous effort. Pure shock flowed through your body as you held the steel beam above your head, trying to protect the still living worker from falling debris by leaning over him. Your knees trembled, softening with each passing second and would soon give way.  
The situation just wouldn't go into your skull, it was so surreal: Just your muscle power kept this man alive, while you didn't know where to put the huge metal bar. You wanted to throw the thing aside, but just to stop the carrier from burying you and the worker took all your strength - moving was impossible. Calling for help was impossible. Holding this damn thing up much longer was impossible.  
What were you supposed to do now?!


	11. Stitch me up

You stared at the floor, watching the drops of blood dripping from your upper body. Sweat ran down your forehead and your muscles rebelled under the enormous weight of the steel beam. You could not lift it much longer and you became dizzy, your thoughts already blurred into each other. The stuffy air and the smell of blood were too much, you just couldn't do it anymore. You were afraid, your whole body was just pain, and the tears in the corners of your eyes made their way across your cheeks, mixing with your blood on the floor. With a helpless whimper you sank down, one knee gave way and you begged silently for help. Where were the other workers? Shouldn't help have come long ago?  
"Katakuri!" You saw your husband enter the factory, his scarf pulled up to his face and he seemed to look around searching. When he heard your desperate voice he turned to you and you saw the surprise in his eyes. All he expected to find you half-buried under a huge metal ingot was probably not one of them. Immediately he was with you, grabbed your heavy load and took the carrier from you. Instantly you sank to the ground, holding your throbbing shoulder and moaning in pain.  
"Take him out," you croaked weakly and nodded in the direction of the worker. Katakuri hesitated, one hand on your bleeding shoulder.  
"You can't walk alone?" he asked, shaking your head. Your knees resembled jelly and your muscles burned like the fire surrounding you. He still hesitated until he finally made a decision and picked you up from the ground. A faint whimper came over your lips in protest, he had to save the badly injured worker!  
"He won't survive," Katakuri told you, nipping your coming backlashes in the bud - but that didn't soothe you one bit. You had given so much to keep the worker alive and now he was going to die despite everything - so it was all for nothing. Everything you tried seemed doomed to failure.

Magda was as white as a sheet when Katakuri brought you home. She was scurrying around you, honestly worried, and had already provided hot water and bandages in the bathroom. Her compassionate look made it clear that you had to look very worn out. Bloodstained, covered with flour and ashes and with cuts on your arms and face. She hurried down the hall, opened the door to your bedroom and bathroom so that Katakuri could set you down on the floor and lean against the bathtub.  
"I'll do it," he turned to Magda, who leaned nervously and anxiously against the door frame. She nodded immediately, seeming to have complete confidence in Katakuri's medical abilities. She closed the door behind her and you were alone with your husband. You threw an exhausted look at him - grateful that he had saved you and yet angry that he had given up the worker you were protecting so easily. Just because he could see a few minutes into the future did not mean he was omniscient.  
"Is it all right that I sent her away," he finally asked somewhat hesitantly after sitting cross-legged on the floor opposite you. You nodded, even though you could barely listen. What had he said to Magda? What did he want to do?  
He reached for his scarf and after a short moment he pulled the piece of cloth from his shoulders. Dazed by the blood loss, you raised your healthy arm and put your hand on one of the scars on his mouth, the base of a smile on your face.  
"They look pretty cool," you muttered, dazed by the pain and fascinated by your husband. He didn't evade your touch, just snorted in amusement and carefully palpated the wound on your shoulder. You flinched under the pain of your touch, but he grabbed the piece of glass to pull it out.  
"Wait, don't!", you tried to stop him from his intention - in vain. He grabbed the shard, pulled it out carefully but quickly. In agony you groaned, your hand reached into his vest and you tried to stay calm, not to scream under the immense pain. Blood poured out when the shard was out and Katakuri immediately pressed one of the towels on it. You clung helplessly to him, tears in your eyes and a silent plea on your lips. It hurt, it hurt so damn much and you just wanted it to stop.  
Your husband took a look at the wound and frowned at the sight of the deep wound.  
"It'll need stitches."  
"Please don't." you immediately whimpered, trying to ward him off in tears. He grabbed you by the neck as gently as possible, made you look at him and make eye contact. The red eyes were softer than you had ever seen, but that couldn't calm you down in that moment. But oh, that beautiful shade of red...  
"It will hurt, but it must be done." Okay, that wasn't very reassuring either. "You really proved yourself today and I'm proud of you - but you're going to have to go through this."  
Crying and filled with pure panic, you stared at him for a moment, surprised by these kind and yet so honest words. He was proud of you and that gave you an incredibly good feeling - you didn't want to disappoint him. You wanted him to like you, because actually you liked Katakuri by now. Like it or not, you really liked the stubborn commander whenever that happened. Eventually your dislike had diminished, you got used to his presence and started to get rid of your prejudices against him. Actually he was a good guy, even if he hid it cleverly.  
"Well, make it quick." Sluggishly you pulled down your tattered blouse, but made sure your chest was well covered - he might have been your husband, but you wouldn't allow such deep insights.  
"Grit your teeth," he instructed you and you nodded, ready for the next wave of pain. As expected it hurt like hell and you asked yourself briefly why you hadn't asked for booze when there was no anesthetic or painkiller. A tortured groan escaped you every time the needle went into your skin. Your plan of not letting the pain show, of course, did not work, even if you wanted to play the tough woman. No matter how brave the heroes in your books were, sewing a wound without painkillers was hell on earth!

"I would have expected more whining," Katakuri teased you as he covered your wound with the bandage after sewing. You snorted weakly, giving him a tired but somewhat indignant look.  
"I'm not as crybaby as you might think," you muttered weakly and leaned the back of your head against the bathtub behind you. At last it was over, the wound was taken care of.  
"I think I really misjudged you a bit," he finally admitted. "You really surprised me sometimes."  
"But you can see into the future," you muttered, slightly amused. "How could I have surprised you?"  
"Your stubbornness would be a good example," he said and fastened the bandage so that it could not slip. "Or your reaction to... You know what I mean."  
You opened your eyes a little, looked closely at the canines, the scars, and how uncomfortable he seemed to be with the conversation.  
"I'm a man of my word: I think it's pretty cool," you said and your hand stroked over one of the scars again. Again he silently endured your touch, let your fingers run along the scar and finally he sighed.  
"Were you born with it?" you asked, trying to distract yourself from your throbbing shoulder with curiosity. He hesitated, but then shook his head.  
"No. I won't say any more about that either."  
"It's only fair," you relented, dazed. It was his right not to talk about the origin of the scars, after all you weren't too keen on telling him about your worst experiences. Everyone deserved a few secrets that no one else knew.  
"Would you do me a favor?" you asked after a minute of silence between the two of you. "Please get Magda. I want to wash off the flour and I think I need some help."  
"I have to check on the factory anyway. It's bad enough that I just ran away..." Katakuri disappeared behind his scarf again, but you had the quiet feeling that he already felt much more comfortable in your company - as much as you wanted to deny it, you didn't feel threatened by him anymore. On the contrary, you were happy to see him and spend time with him after work was done. This intrusive feeling had been haunting you for several weeks - warm and sticky as honey, it was dripping out between your ribs day after day, getting harder and harder to hide. Katakuri was a narrow-minded idiot, showed hardly any feelings and since he was so distant, it was quite tricky to judge him. But why did your mood improve as soon as you saw him? Why did you catch yourself watching him closely when he was distracted?

  
  
_Do you think he even likes me?_

  
  
By late evening you were already in bed, but sleep was out of the question. Every movement hurt, the pulling and pounding in your shoulder became unbearable, until you finally groaned in annoyance and slowly sat up. Rain pelted against the window, another disturbing factor that night. You looked at the clock on the wall - it was already two o'clock. After that hellish day, it was no wonder you couldn't sleep. Tiredness was far from you, your thoughts were still racing through your head, and to make matters worse, you had been suffering from a terrible thirst for a small eternity. Magda was probably already in bed, so you would have to mess up the well-kept kitchen, for better or worse.  
Slowly and deliberately you swung your legs over the edge of the bed and carefully held a hand on the bandage that was constricting your shoulder. You had to move as gently as possible so that the seams would not tear immediately and it would start bleeding again. For a moment you thought - should you really sneak around the house in your sleeping clothes? What if someone saw you?  
But you quickly abandoned that option, it was the middle of the night, after all, who could see you? Katakuri had come home some time ago, you could hear the steps in the hallway. After that day even Katakuri was too tired to stay up that long, unlike you. He had already experienced many fights, seen a lot of suffering - surely an accident like that could not shock him anymore.  
You stuck your head out of your bedroom, listened into the silent house. No sound reached your ears, no light was burning in any of the nearby rooms. Apparently you had the whole house to yourself and you sighed with relief. A little rest and a cup of tea was exactly what you needed!  
Leisurely you groped down the hallway, passed the dining room and reached the kitchen. It was an elegant kitchen with lots of space, several hobs and two large refrigerators. The kitchen was the right size to cook for an extended family and for a moment a scary thought flashed through your mind. Nobody had mentioned it until now, but would you ever be asked to have a baby? You quickly chased this unpleasant thought away again, but that went too far!  
You searched the large pantry for some tea and for a moment you were overwhelmed by all the varieties that appeared before you. Herbs, chamomile, fruits, raspberry, black tea, blackberry, nettle, lavender, rose hip, Matcha, Chai, green tea, Earl Grey... What kind of tea did you take?  
Quickly you reached for any kind when the kettle behind you started whistling - in the end it would wake up the whole house! You quickly took it off the stove, but immediately regretted your hasty movements. Your shoulder rebelled immediately and you paused to let the pain subside. This damned wound would be good for a long time, that much was certain.  
Just as you were about to turn around and sit down at the small table in the kitchen, someone was already standing behind you - someone tall, someone with a soft scarf. Completely frightened, you cursed out loud, barely managing not to drop the cup in your hand.  
"Damn it," you hissed angrily and with throbbing hearts as you looked up at Katakuri. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"  
"I wasn't sneaking up on you," he defended himself calmly. He leaned towards you, which immediately made you retreat a bit until you reached the work surface with your butt. He had seldom come that close to you and something told you that he did it on purpose.  
Unimpressed by your sudden nervousness, he reached into the kitchen cupboard behind you and held an empty cup in front of your nose. "Do you mind if I join you?"


	12. Good intention, bad execution

"I had expected you to sleep soundly," you confessed sheepishly, the cup of steaming tea untouched in front of you. You sat opposite each other in the dark kitchen, and only the sound of the pattering rain disturbed the silence between you. Until you decided to start a conversation. The silence was just too strange, oppressive and uncomfortable. You wanted to fill the emptiness with words, no matter how senseless they were.  
"I thought the same of you. You should rest," he replied. You twisted his eyes - he already sounded just like Magda. She had uttered an enormous rant before she put you to bed. That you shouldn't play the heroine, after all you're not as strong as the other members of the Charlotte family. She was worried about you, which touched you somehow - a real surrogate mother.  
"Did you really know for sure that the man was going to die," you asked, a thought that had tormented you for hours. You had wanted to save the worker in the factory, but his death was very close to you. You were weighed down by guilt, you should have done more. You should have saved him!  
"His death was inevitable," Katakuri answered your question coolly. "Without my intervention, you would have died too."  
You swallowed. You didn't want to know that much, who would have wanted to know that he almost died? Once again, your husband showed a lack of sensitivity, he was just too honest and direct.  
"I guess I should thank you, after all you saved my life," you said weakly, while your stomach contracted painfully. What if you had really died? Your family would probably never have known how you had died - a terrible thought.  
"Why didn't you take shelter?", you were torn from your murky thoughts by him. "Why did you risk your life?"  
"I couldn't just leave him lying there." A painful lump sat in your throat and you blinked at the tears in the corner of your eye. "What kind of person would I be if I just ran away, thinking only of myself?"  
Katakuri was silent, seemingly thinking about that. It was certainly not customary in the Charlotte family to give his life for strangers. Why exactly you had acted so rashly and risked your own life for a man you didn't even really know was beyond you. Either it was pure stupidity, courage or too much compassion.  
"What is the state of the factory?" you asked, to change the subject as quickly as possible. "Can production resume soon?"  
"The damage is not exactly minor." Katakuri sighed barely audibly and ran his hand over his face. "I have to report this to Mother tomorrow."  
"Oh dear." A crooked smile crept across your face - you didn't want to swap places with him. Bad news didn't go down well with Big Mom, but you were hoping she would forgive him. After all, the fire had been an accident, and no one could help it - except Yoku, perhaps. Several times you had told him not to smoke in the hall, and what did it get him in the end? He was dead, as were three other workers.  
"Magda told me you send many letters." Now it was his turn to change the subject. Apparently he didn't want to think about the next day, about Big Mom's anger, which was probably inevitable.  
"My sister has written to me," you replied, happy for a cheerful topic of conversation. "She is terribly worried about me. ...and asks me if you're a good husband."  
"Am I?" he asked with amused undertone. The smile grew on your lips.   
"It's probably in the eye of the beholder," you said, stroking a stray strand of hair behind your ear. "You tell me."  
"I think I can pass for passable."  
It took a second for you two to fall silent again. He had noticed, as had you, the loose, slightly playful tone in your voices. Your fingers lying absently in your hair, playing with a loose strand. His gaze lay steadfastly on you, his red eyes watching you with undivided attention.

  
  
_We're flirting. Oh my God, we are really flirting with each other._

  
  
"I should go to bed," you muttered, embarrassed by this sudden realization. The tension between you was suddenly almost palpable, lying heavy on your shoulders and a slight panic seized you.  
That wasn't supposed to happen. Although you were married to Katakuri, feelings were not planned. This was a marriage of convenience, designed to connect Big Mom and your family of half giants - no less, but no more. Katakuri was much older than you, he was one of the commanders, and you didn't have much in common except that you lived in the same house. The tingling in your body was an accident, just the tension of the day falling away from you. The heat on your skin, when he looked at you as closely as he did at that moment, was just the tiredness in your bones, nothing more.  
Katakuri leaned back on the chair, took a moment to react to your sudden withdrawal.  
"Sleep well," he finally said, his voice so deep and rough that it sent a little shiver down your spine. He did it on purpose. Did he want to push the limits, test how far he could go with you? Impossible, that was Katakuri Charlotte after all - surely he was just bored, playing with you to pass the time. What an arrogant bastard!

The following morning you had an early visitor - it was chiffon. She wanted to check on you, had heard about your injury and brought you something sweet to eat. It was a delicious cake, but you couldn't quite understand how one could stuff something sweet into oneself so early in the day. You thanked your girlfriend, did not want to be rude and refuse her nice gesture.  
"Chiffon, can I show you something," you asked after a refreshing cup of coffee and a morning piece of cake with the young woman.  
"But of course! What is it about?", she asked curiously and you rubbed your neck embarrassed. Up to that point you hadn't told anyone about it, she was the first person to hear about your project.  
"In the greenhouse," you replied. "It's a kind of... Well, it was an experiment."  
The greenhouse in the garden was your own little kingdom, no one came in uninvited, not even Katakuri. Yet you had made an enormous effort over the last few months to be useful and do your part for Flour Island. Finally your work bore fruit, but you didn't really dare to show Katakuri. Chiffon was your friend, she was polite and supported you whenever she could - good conditions to show her your work.  
"You know, I was thinking about how to improve the production of flour," you explained to Chiffon when you stood in front of the greenhouse a few minutes later. "So I planted different kinds of wheat in small quantities and tried to crossbreed them. Also with other plants, to be honest."  
"Well, did it work?"  
"Not at first, but after a few months... Well, see for yourself." You opened the door so Chiffon could have a look inside. Herbs were growing in little pots on shelves. A few tomato plants, strawberries - and at the end of the elongated greenhouse was a small field of yours, with rich topsoil and well fertilized. From it sprouted grain, almost as high as chiffon was and ready for harvest.  
You led Chiffon through the greenhouse until you finally arrived at the miniature field.  
"Somehow it looks different from the big fields," Chiffon remarked, looking at your plants a little closer. "The color is strange."  
"It's sweet wheat," you explained, separating one ear of corn from the rest of the plant. "It's normal wheat, but with a certain amount of glucose. Normally, there is not enough dextrose in wheat for you to taste it. After many, many crosses, I was able to increase the proportion so that the flour obtained tastes sweet."  
Chiffon looked at you with big eyes, in them the sparkle of sincere admiration.  
"That's fantastic," she exclaimed happily and took your ear off your head to taste it. "It's really quite sweet!"  
"I thought, with all that candy... If the flour is sweet, you can save on the sugar," you muttered, somewhat embarrassed in the face of her honest joy and how honestly impressed she seemed. "It's not perfected yet, but at least it's a start."  
"You absolutely must show Katakuri this," Chiffon said excitedly. "This will be such a great help - Big Sister, you are truly unique!"  
You looked even more embarrassed on the ground, not knowing how to deal with the immense praise. It was only a small, insignificant job - you wanted to be useful, that was all.  
"Thank you, that's very sweet of you. I just haven't found the courage to show it to Katakuri yet," you confessed.  
"Oh, don't worry about it." Chiffon waved away. "I'm sure he'll be impressed."  
"I do hope you're right."

The day went by fast, and the evening almost took you by surprise. You had chatted long and hard with Chiffon, explaining your plans for the wheat fields. She encouraged you in your ideas, urged you to confront Katakuri and tell him your very good ideas. You could only hope that his mood would not be too bad after his day on Whole Cake Island. But luckily you were not upside down and knew how to promote your project.  
"Here." Katakuri sat at the dining table, with a sea of papers in front of him - delivery bills, order histories and dates from previous months on harvesting and sowing. He had been in the dining room for some time, taking notes and you could hear him sighing annoyed every now and then. Rarely did he let his bad mood shine through as clearly as that evening, but you knew how to avert it. You put a plate of cake on the table to draw his attention from work to you. He looked at the cake, then at you. Meanwhile, you locked each of the three doors leading to the dining room so that he could eat without any concerns. Although you knew the secret of his teeth, you had never eaten together.  
"Cake," he finally asked as you sat down next to him and pulled your own plate of cake closer to you.  
"Yes, cake. Baked by me. With home-ground flour from homegrown plants," you explained briefly and nervously tasted the first bite of the cake. You were terribly afraid that your baking skills were not sufficient to make a decent cake - but the result was not bad. Not as good as the cake from Chiffon, but not a disaster either!  
"What do you mean, 'homemade'," Katakuri asked, and you saw his hesitation. He also realized that you had never watched him eat before. In fact, no one had ever done that before.  
"While you were making fun of my project, I managed to grow a sweet grain," you said, your voice soaked with pride. "Come on, try the cake! I have absolutely no sugar to use."  
He sighed, overcame his hesitation with a cool side glance and pulled the scarf down a little. You did not look, knowing that this situation was very delicate. The metal cutlery clicked against his teeth and you felt him pause.  
"You didn't use sugar?" he asked after a quiet moment and finally you turned to him and nodded enthusiastically.  
"Not one bit! Do you like it?", you asked immediately. "It's sweet flour! I have grown sweet wheat!"  
"It takes some getting used to," he said and took another bite. "But not bad."  
Well, he didn't exactly burst out in praise, but all in all his remark was a compliment. Pleased, you jumped up and looked at him with a provocative look.  
"What do you think, can we plant a field of wheat? I've worked so hard on it, and I want to know how it behaves in large quantities." You were so full of energy that Katakuri leaned slightly to one side and gave you an irritated look.  
"I will think about it," he relented. For you, this statement was already his approval of your own field, and gratefully you gave him a big smile. Without thinking, you bent down a little and stroked the corner of his mouth with your hand, where there was still some cream. Your body acted on its own and it took a second for your brain to follow and understand this intimate touch. You froze to ice, just standing there and hastily pulling your hand back. Katakuri stared at you, you stared back.  
"I'm sorry!" you started babbling at once. That wasn't planned, why the hell did you do that?! Without a thought to the movement your body had done what felt natural.  
"I'm sorry," you repeated, turning around abruptly and storming out of the dining room as quickly as possible, your ears red with shame. Damn, that was embarrassing - now you could never look him in the eyes again...


	13. Katakuri: All good things come in threes

It was almost five in the morning when Katakuri sat up and opened his mouth to a silent yawn. He ran his hand over his face and growled irritably. It was time to get up, even though he would give anything to be able to sleep. But it was his duty, he had to inspect and sign off the last trains of the construction work at the factory that day. He had promised Mom that the factory would be back in production as soon as possible. He was certainly not that tired of life and promised his mother things he could not keep.  
It was one of those days again: On some days the scars at the corner of his mouth hurt, even though they had healed many years ago. The pain would accompany him for the next few hours, until there was too much bustle to think of them. Then the pulling and throbbing usually faded away, disappeared under the stressful everyday life. Even though he was always calm, collected and cool - the harvest season was stressful and then a half-burned down factory, that tore even at his nerves.  
He skipped breakfast because he had wasted too much time not wanting to get up. Of course he was dutiful, but sometimes he just wanted to lie down and sleep until noon. But his 'perfect' reputation didn't allow him to do that, so he had to get up in the early hours of the morning every damn day and get to work.  
"Good morning," Magda greeted him, whereupon he nodded to her in silence. He was not in the mood for small talk, it was too damn early and he was too damn tired for that. Magda had known him for thirty years - she was probably the only one who really saw through him. He liked her, especially because she was discreet and didn't gossip, as the younger maids were only too happy to do. Another reason why he would never let an employee see him without his scarf!  
"Your wife is already in the greenhouse," Magda said as she handed him a cup of coffee. "She got up an hour ago."  
He could hear the maternal pride in her voice, even though she tried to hide it. So Magda had taken you under her wing. Fittingly, you two were very similar after all - both of you were stubborn people who knew how to fit in to get through.  
"So she's really serious about this sweet wheat," he murmured broodingly. For days now, you've locked yourself in the greenhouse, working yourself half to death to get results. He was a bit impressed by your ambition and on top of that your idea wasn't that bad. Sweet flour would make completely new recipes possible, minimize the need for sugar, and Mom would certainly be thrilled. It was probably worth a try, after endless months of your nagging he would finally have to agree to move the fields and rebuild the irrigation system. He had resisted your idea for so long, but only out of pride. His system had always worked perfectly until now! Then you came along, with your enthusiasm, the good ideas and that excited sparkle in your eyes.  
He snorted, forcibly pushing you out of his thoughts. He had to be careful, because whenever he thought too much he lost concentration and his observation shaki became useless. And since you gave him often enough reason to brood, it was hardly possible for him to concentrate when he was near you. Too distracting was your constant babbling that you wanted to convince him of your ideas at all costs and the sound of your voice followed him into his dreams. A fact that only annoyed him even more: he had work to do. His time did not allow daydreams, he had to pull himself together!

"This is really a huge disaster."  
"Mom must have been furious!"  
Oven and Daifuku had wanted to see the destroyed factory up close, much to Katakuri's chagrin. Annoyed, he endured the comments of his younger brothers who, together with him, kept an eye on the repairs. The work had been going on for a week so that the wheat could be ground and delivered as soon as possible. Instead of helping, the two younger brothers and sisters stood around making jokes and cheering on the workers. One would think that the two of them would finally be grown up at the age of almost 50, but far from it: Whenever the triplets spent time together, it was like in the old days. Daifuku and Oven were at loggerheads, Katakuri had to step in between and it ended in a brawl as usual. The eldest didn't even have to look into the future to know that the two would soon find a reason to fight.  
"How are things with your wife," Oven suddenly asked, while Daifuku had to hide a snorting laugh. "Is it still arctic cold in your country?"  
"As if that's any of your business," Katakuri gave the annoyed answer. The two began to laugh behind their hands until the Elder finally had enough and gave them a stern look. But the two were his little brothers - in life, they would not hide from an angry look.

  
**The same shit every time. They will probably never grow up.**

  
"I'm sure things are going well between them and Katakuri is too shy to admit it," Daifuku said, and Oven joined in his gloating laughter.  
"I bet they've been doing it all over the house." That was as far as Oven got when he had Katakuri's fist in his face. The blow was hard and unerring, so that he immediately had a bloody nose. He began to rant, wiping the back of his hand over his bloodstained face. Daifuku burst out laughing, but had to duck away quickly to avoid being hit.  
"Why are you hitting me?!," Oven cried angrily. "I was only telling the truth!"  
"Don't talk about my wife like that," Katakuri replied briefly and gave Daifuku a warning look that if he didn't keep his mouth shut, he would end up exactly like the youngest of the triplets. Daifuku innocently shrugged and laughed at Oven's bleeding nose. Disputes between the brothers were quickly forgiven and forgotten, and there was no grudge between them. Still, Oven grumbled, wiped the rest of the blood from his face and looked up at the elder.  
"You really care about her." The younger ones looked at each other with knowing eyes as Katakuri hesitated to answer. He liked you quite well by now, even though he was more than disappointed in his bride at the beginning of your marriage. You were a crybaby then, with a disgustingly fake smile on your lips and as jumpy as a deer. These were things he absolutely could not stand about women. But in the last ten months of the bumpy marriage you had really made yourself, had become more self-confident and stood up for yourself - you were even cheeky and cheeky in the meantime, something he liked very much about you. You were a stubborn, tough beast. A tomboy.  
"If you talk badly about my wife, then that concerns me too," he defended himself before his brothers. He just didn't want to admit that he had developed a certain weakness for you, because they would raise him with that for the rest of his life.  
"Of course, you only have your own reputation in mind," Daifuku said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It is absolutely impossible that the big and strong katakuri could actually fall in love.  
"With a woman he spends a lot of time with. After all, they live together," Oven immediately agreed.  
"And they're already married."  
"Did you see her in that dress the day of the wedding? I'd love to see her in that dress."  
Oven had already caught the next blow with the coming remark, this time the blow was much stronger and more serious. He knew exactly what Oven was going to say and this sparked serious anger in him. No one was allowed to talk about you like that, he didn't want to hear something so insinuating from anyone, not even from his own brother - and certainly not from his own brother!  
"So you really like her," growled Oven, a triumphant grin under the blood that poured from his nose again. Daifuku was about to laugh tears, he was enjoying himself deliciously. As serious as Katakuri was, as cool and calm he acted in every imaginable situation - they were brothers. Oven and Daifuku looked up to Katakuri, he was their big brother and yet they knew him well. He was not as unapproachable as he appeared and there were only a few who knew the real Katakuri. All the more Daifuku and Oven enjoyed annoying him. But besides the sibling provocation, they liked to see that someone seemed to be there for their brother.  
"Does she like you too?" Daifuku finally asked. "Any advances?"  
Katakuri's patience was nearing its end but denying it was pointless. The two younger ones knew him far too well for it to make sense to play the unapproachable now. The close bond between the triplets had survived all these years and was still there as if they were still children.  
"She didn't say anything when I took off my scarf," the elder admitted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Immediately his brothers looked at each other, each with a wry grin on their faces.  
"Really? You took that thing off in front of her? You're more serious than I thought," Oven said and pulled himself up from the floor, ignoring the blood on his face. "So, has she tried anything on you yet?"  
Katakuri wondered - the thing a few days ago was perhaps worth mentioning. He had dismissed it as void, but you had hurried away after touching the corner of his mouth. He felt your reaction was completely exaggerated considering you had been locked in the greenhouse ever since. For days you hadn't been in front of his eyes, but fled from him whenever you could. He told his brothers about the situation and got a roaring laugh in response.  
"How can you be so blind," Daifuku gurgled after wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of his eye. "Katakuri, she's really into you!"  
"Nonsense," growled the elder immediately. "I tested the boundaries a little bit, but she didn't react to it, so I just let it go. Period."  
"I've never heard such bullshit," Oven said. "It's obvious that she likes you too - even though I don't understand how someone like you could be great."  
He got a playful slap on the shoulder for it, seemed glad it didn't hit his face again.  
"Okay, listen, you know I'm the women's expert of the three of us," Oven continued, but all he reaped was a mocking snort from Daifuku and Katakuri for that claim. "Anyway, I know how you can test the boundaries and whether she would like you in her bed."  
"Get to the point." Another great plan from the womanizer Oven, that could only go wrong.  
"So here's what we're gonna do..."


	14. Alright, you got me nervous

  
"Wake up." You drove up in an instant, looked into two red eyes that stood out in the darkness. Katakuri leaned over you, put one hand on your shoulder to calm you down.  
"Shit, you can't scare me like that," you moaned and fell back on your pillow. "Shit, it's the middle of the night!"  
"It's important," said your husband. "I need to ask you a favor."  
"What is it?" His serious tone was different than usual - more urgent than you'd expect from him. You sat up all the way up, pulled your blanket a little tighter. He sat on the edge of the bed and a strange feeling came over you. That he appeared in your bedroom at night was so... intimate. If he crossed that line, it must be really important.  
"Chiffon will be here very soon, bringing Flambe to us."

  
  
_Us._

  
  
"Why, what's wrong?" you asked with concern. Little Flambe was a magical child, one of the few little ones you liked. Had something happened to her? And why did Chiffon bring her to you two?  
"She's done something wrong, and Mama's not very happy. Flambe needs to get out of the line of fire for a few days."  
You put your hand over your mouth, shocked at the fact that Big Mom would really hurt that little kid. That woman was a monster!  
"And Chiffon can't take her?" you asked. "Don't get me wrong, we're definitely helping her - just, well, you know I wasn't very good with the kids."  
"Chiffon is already taking care of the other children. Avoid collateral damage," your husband explained. You could feel that he cared about his siblings, but there was something else. He seemed to know firsthand how far Big Mom could go when she was angry and couldn't control herself. That was probably one thing you shouldn't ask about, even if you were curious.  
"I'll just get dressed quickly," you muttered sleepily and threw the blanket off. Katakuri hesitated but then got up and gave you a quick sideways glance.  
"You know I'm grateful for your help," he said and you just shrugged your shoulders as you started digging in your closet.  
"I'd be glad to help you," you muttered and pulled the shirt over your head - until you paused in your movement and turned back. Katakuri understood the clear hint, turned around and left your bedroom. Now you undressed in front of him - his presence felt just too natural. It was right that he was near you and you wished every day that you could spend more time with him. Purely as a friend, you told yourself.  
"If you scare me like that again when I wake you up, I'll kill you," you muttered to him a few minutes later. You were standing together in the lobby, he had his hands on his hips and you - you could just about keep your balance. You begged to heaven that you could go back to bed soon!  
The front door opened and Chiffon came in, the crying flame on his arm. Immediately Katakuri stepped forward and took the little girl in his arms. She was much too small for his large stature, so she looked even smaller on his arm.  
"Give me that," you muttered to him and took the girl from him. Even though you were not too talented in dealing with children, Katakuri was worse. He had no pedagogical streak, if you put it nicely. Flambe cried bitterly and Chiffon also seemed to be quite upset.  
"Thank you for taking them. In a few days, Mama should have calmed down again," she said with such a sad look that it almost broke your heart. "I'm sorry for the trouble."  
"Not at all," you reassured her and looked up at Katakuri, who nodded in agreement.  
"We are happy to help," he said.

  
  
_We._

  
  
"Can she sleep with you?" he turned to you and you nodded immediately.  
"Of course."  
Chiffon said good-bye quickly, for she had the older children and Anana to look after. You were glad that only a small offspring had gotten stuck on you, because with several children at once you would have been overtaxed.  
"I'm dog-tired," you sighed directly after Chiffon's farewell. "Come flame, it is already far too late for you. You and I - we'll talk tomorrow."  
You saw that Katakuri wanted to talk to you about it, but you were just too tired.  
"All right," he agreed, accompanied you and Flambe down the hall to your bedroom.  
"Sleep tight." You looked up at him - he seemed unsettled. Who could blame him, you were as overwhelmed by the situation as he was. Not to mention the fact that you almost fell asleep standing up.  
"You too," you whispered and gave him a warm smile. The great Katakuri, deeply concerned about the youngest of the family. One more thing that made him very sympathetic.  
When you closed the door behind you, you sighed heavily. The child in your arms had cried herself to sleep, she cuddled up close to you and whimpered from time to time. You felt terribly sorry for the poor girl, she had to go through so much with this monster of a mother.  
"Okay, little one, off to bed," you muttered to her and laid her on the bed. Your blanket was much too big for her, but this will have to do for now. Chiffon would bring things for Flambe to you the next day, but it would be enough until then.  
I must ask Magda for help, you thought, and yawned heartily. How to take care of a child and what exactly you had to pay attention to - that went over your head and scared the hell out of you. But who were you to reject the poor girl and leave her with her terrible mother?

"Big sister! Awake!" Annoyed, you growled, rolled over to the other side. Soon it would become a habit to wake you up rudely!  
"Flame... Stop jumping on me," you moaned. "I'm getting up."  
"I'm hungry," she grumbled and moved her lower lip forward. "Make me breakfast!"  
You sat up and yawned heartily as Flambe continued to climb around on you. Hopefully Magda would take the day off over the little bundle of energy, after all you had to work and have another word with Katakuri about this whole thing. That you avoided him was probably over with.  
The sudden situation had made you forget your shame. For days you had been hiding from him, insecure about your own feelings. The evening in the dining room, when you had touched him so familiarly, could not get out of your mind. Since then you didn't know how he felt about it. And even worse: you wanted more. Your heart almost leapt at the thought of touching him. But it was Katakuri you thought of - even if he had flirted with you a little, he was hardly capable of such intense feelings.  
"I don't have a toothbrush here," Flambe tore you out of your thoughts and pulled your hair to get your attention. "How am I supposed to brush my teeth?"  
"That too," you muttered sleepily and got up, the girl on your arm. "I'm sure Chiffon will bring you a toothbrush later, along with some clothes."   
In the dining room, Magda was already waiting for you and she took the child. Flambe was put on the table and given sugar cornflakes so she would stop whining. Gratefully you looked at Magda and received a letter from her - your sister had written to you once again. Hurriedly you skimmed over the lines, but there was nothing in them to make you worry. The weather was good, your father was still worried, and Hannah asked you how it felt to be married. A gentle smile crept across your face. You missed your siblings very much, but something was strange: About half a year ago you would have given anything to be able to leave here and go back to your home. That had changed, because even though you missed them, Flour Island had become your home. When you thought of your home, it wasn't the beautiful island full of spruces and mountains that came to your mind, but this island full of golden wheat fields, this big house, Magda and Katakuri. Maybe in your next answer to Hannah you should let this fact shine through, not that they sent a rescue mission to get you back in the end.

  
  
_Dear Hannah,_

_I have read your many letters and it is good to hear that you are doing well. I have a lot of work to do, but I enjoy it and it passes the time. You don't have to worry about me, I'm doing really well here. My husband is very good to me and we have become closer. At first I thought he was a total idiot, but it turns out he can be very lovable. I hardly dare to think about it, but I think this marriage could actually work._   
_Does that sound very crazy? It's all very confusing, but I think I'm starting to like him. When I write it like this, it sounds really very strange and I don't really know how to deal with it. One more thing I have to deal with!_

  
  
You sighed, put the pen down. Okay, maybe you really had a thing for katakuri. More than just friendship, more than just a mere marriage of convenience that you both had to put up with. But I'm sure it was just a little crush, no big deal. Since it was quite lonely on Flour Island this had to happen sooner or later. Such stupid crushes went by quickly and the tingling under your skin would disappear into thin air.  
No need to worry.  
Next to you, Flambe had finally finished her cornflakes massacre and spread the contents of her bowl all over the table. For an eight-year-old girl, she was behaving rather childishly. But with her mother, a decent upbringing was simply not possible.  
"You're all sticky," you scolded her and began to dry her face with a serving tray. "You'll have a bath later!"  
"No bath!," she protested immediately, but you were both distracted by your husband coming into the dining room. Flambe squealed in delight and greeted her big brother warmly. All of Big Mom's children loved Katakuri and looked up to him, even the youngest. You watched the whole thing with a warm smile as he finally dropped onto a chair next to you. That he sat down right next to you was new, but you enjoyed it very much. The tingling was there again, it increased when you just looked at him. No need to worry.  
"Everything okay at Chiffon," you asked him, and poured a cup of coffee for him, followed by four spoonfuls of sugar. It was disgusting how sweet he drank his coffee - but he had a weakness for sugar. From this he drew his strength, he claimed. If he hadn't been a devil's power user, you would have seriously doubted this statement, but with his body of Mochi, who knew what was right and what was wrong?  
"Everything is fine so far, the children are fine, too," he answered you and gratefully accepted the coffee. He had been on the road all morning, trying to handle the crisis by informing Smoothie, Snack and Cracker and pulling him into the boat. The other three commanders were also worried about the smallest of their siblings, so it was easy to convince them to help. "Another letter from your sister?"  
He pointed to the leaves in front of you and you immediately grabbed your own letter and folded it in the middle.  
"Yes, I- Ah, I answered her directly. Everything as usual." Under no circumstances was he allowed to see what you wanted to tell your little sister! If he found out about your crush on him, you'd probably sink to the ground in shame.  
Hang in there, you said to yourself. The tingling will soon go away.

  
  
_Will it really...?_


	15. Too long trying to resist it

In the afternoon Smoothie came to visit, a rare honor. Like Katakuri, she was also very busy, always busy and rarely had the time to visit you in your house. All the more you were happy about her, just like Flambe. The girl immediately started to abuse Smoothie as a climbing frame, but the commander patiently let it go. Magda served some tea and the finest pastries and with all the sweets you slowly asked yourself how you should keep your figure. From morning to night there was sweets and slowly you couldn't see the sugar anymore!  
"What's the situation on Whole Cake Island?" you asked Smoothie and she just shrugged her shoulders.  
"Mom is upset, she didn't even notice the kids are gone," she answered you and took a sip of tea. "And it's all because Flambe ate the cupcakes."  
In fact, the whole situation was the result of a little stupidity: Flambe had eaten Big Mom's last cupcake, and all hell broke loose on Whole Cake Island. Big Mom's eating fits were feared and even her own children had to take the legs in their hands to avoid falling victim to the pirate. Fortunately Chiffon had reacted quickly and brought all the young siblings to safety, otherwise there would have been a disaster.  
"Over a cupcake ...", you muttered and shook your head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it just won't go in my head."  
"That's just the way Mum is." Smoothie's voice was always uninvolved and cool, as if nothing in the world could upset her - but she too had to be afraid of her mother. At least when it came to those gruesome munchies again...  
"Say, how are you and my brother getting along," she asked, and now you could hear the breath of curiosity in her voice. "Is he making your life difficult?"  
"Big brother Katakuri is so cool," Flambe sounded in between, a cookie in her mouth and she crumbled smoothie from top to bottom. "He's the coolest!"  
"Yes, he is." you agreed to amuse her, but then you turned back to Smoothie. "We're doing pretty good now. But, can I ask you something?"  
"Sure."  
"How was your childhood?"  
She looked at you with baffled looks, but understood what you were getting at.  
"I shouldn't really talk about it, but... "It wasn't always easy," she admitted. "I think the oldest of my siblings had it the hardest. You know, Mom is a little difficult sometimes. She wasn't so bad with her munchies in the past, but she's always had a temper.  
You were thinking of chiffon, which since Lola's escape had to pay for it.  
"I'm only asking because I want to understand Katakuri better," you said and slipped back and forth on your chair in embarrassment. "It seems very complicated to me."  
"Then you should ask the other two triplets. More Oven than Daifuku - he is not very sociable. But they are triplets after all, and Compote said that they used to be together all the time," Smoothie suggested and stood up. "Excuse me, but I have to go. The cleanup after Mom's last seizure is going rather slowly and I can't avoid it any longer."  
"Visit us again soon," you said goodbye to the white-haired woman and Flambe waved happily at her big sister as she left the dining room.  
Perhaps Oven could calm your curiosity?

"Thanks for taking the time. I was very surprised by your invitation," you said politely. Surprisingly, Oven had come before you and invited you to Browned, the island where he was minister. What a coincidence that he beat you to it! You also wanted to talk to him, ask him what he could tell you about Katakuri. Although it was doubtful if he would tell you anything at all. You had never really spoken to him before and now he invited you to his place out of the blue? Your gut instinct warned you about him, but curiosity was just too great, so you accepted the invitation.  
"I always have time for my sister-in-law," he said and offered you a cup of hot coffee. Gratefully you accepted, having watched him heat the drink by his devilish powers. Devil powers were impressive and the whole Charlotte family possessed an enormous variety of powers - you felt a little insignificant.  
"I'm sure you have a lot to do," you tried a little small talk before it got to the preserves. "As minister of baking, you must have very little free time.  
"I'll take my time if necessary." He leaned forward, over the table and lifted your chin. Shocked by this strange gesture, you flinched a little, but did not dare to jump up in front of the intimidating Oven. What was going on here? What was he up to?!  
"You know, I didn't invite you here to chat," he said and came a little closer. With big eyes you stared at him, unable to react. Something went very wrong here! "You don't want to make pointless small talk either, do you?"  
He leaned even further forward, a large figure above you that came closer and closer. As if in slow motion, you watched as he continued to lift your chin with his hand and approached your face - until you finally awoke from your trance and jumped up.  
"What the hell- Leave that!" you scolded immediately, completely taken by surprise and shocked. What was this action all about?! You were his brother's wife and he shamelessly tried to make a pass at you! "What's wrong with you, that you try to pull such shit! Katakuri is your brother and you're trying to get a chance with me? You fucking dirty-"  
"Woah, calm down," he interrupted you laughing and withdrew. "Okay, you can fight back, that's for sure."  
"I don't get upset when you try to pull a stupid stunt like that," you kept ranting and raising your hand threateningly. "If you try that again, I swear I'll cut your head off!"  
"All right, all right. Sorry, I just wanted to test something, nothing more," he evaded and watched your rebellion amused. "My goodness, my brother has really got a fiery woman on his hands - I'm almost a bit envious."

  
  
_What the hell is going on here?!_

  
  
You stood on your tiptoes and grabbed Oven's ear to pull it.  
"You're going to explain to me what this is all about, right now," you demanded, brave by your enormous rage and hopeless confusion. The laughter quickly faded and he tore himself from your grip, rubbing his aching ear.  
"Ouch!" he complained and gave you a grim look. "I can't tell you, I promised Katakuri."  
"So he's behind all this shit?" you hissed angrily. You didn't like being made a fool of, not at all. Your husband could experience something that he'd have his brothers on you! That they should come on to you just because he didn't want to hang out with you, what a crooked number!  
"Now wait, you've got it all wrong," Oven tried to stop you, but you didn't listen to him. Angrily you turned away and stomped away. Go home and you'd give your husband a big telling off that he wouldn't forget so quickly!  
"Come on, Katakuri has nothing to do with this." Oven followed you and grabbed you by the shoulder. "It was my idea."  
"What idea was that? That you try to tow me away?" you hissed and sparkled at him angrily. He hesitated, wondering if it was wise to let you in.  
"You're really cute when you're angry," he finally said, which only increased your anger. "No wonder Katakuri fell for you."  
"You're kidding me." The words slipped out of your mouth, incredulous and you felt even more confused than before. Was he serious? Or was he just trying to get his head out of the noose and blame it on your husband?  
Oven looked at you for a moment, then the wry grin crept back to his lips.  
"You seriously want to explain to me that you didn't notice," he asked and began to laugh with all his heart. Your anger subsided a little, but the confusion remained steady.  
"Noticed what? What do you think?", you asked. "Did he talk about me? What did he say?"  
"When I tell that to Daifuku, he laughs so much," he sighed, wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of his eye. "You and Katakuri are in love with each other and don't even realize it."  
"We are not in love with each other," you protested immediately, but your face became hot at the thought of your husband. Could it really be that he liked you too? You weren't even sure if you really had feelings for him or if it was just a stupid crush. You couldn't possibly have been that lucky to find your husband for life in a forced marriage... It was just unthinkable.  
"You don't have to deny it, it's obvious," Oven said, and his knowing gaze drove you crazy again. "You stare at him dreamily and he can't concentrate when you jump around him.  
"I'm not staring at him," you hissed angrily, but with red cheeks - because it was true. Sooner or later your gaze was always on your husband, whether you wanted it to or not. You looked at his broad shoulders, the little movements he made. The almost imperceptible frowning when he looked into the future through his hookah and the fact that he always pulled on his scarf when he was brooding. It was the little things about him, the details that fascinated you so much. He was so much more than you could see at first sight!  
Oven was silent, made you think for a moment and finally gave you a resigned sigh.  
"You mustn't tell him," you muttered embarrassedly and stroked a stray strand behind your ear. "It's just a silly crush, nothing more."  
"I don't care what it is, just work it out amongst yourselves," he said. "But if you're not nice to my brother, I'll tear your pretty little head off."  
You flinched a little, because this threat was definitely serious. Who would have thought that Oven cared so much about his big brother?  
"Does he like me?" you asked quietly and looked up at the youngest of the triplets. It was a question that had been burning on your mind for some time now, that didn't let you sleep at night.  
"I've never seen him behave like that - you can guess the rest," was the only answer you got.  
"If you pull a crap like that again, you're in for a treat," you growled at your brother-in-law with a grim look. "I almost had a heart attack."  
"Ah, don't worry, you're not my type," he waved. "But I think you're exactly my brother's type of woman."  
There it was again, that tingling under your skin. Should you dare take the initiative?  
  



	16. Ain't no chancer

  
"Come back here!" you shouted, chasing the little monster Flambe through the hallway of the house. Giggling, she ran away, incredibly fast for her short legs. It was time for her bath, but the little devil really had it out to make a fool of you. You had been running after her for twenty minutes, trying to catch her and put her in the bathtub. Quick little thing, she always got away by a hair's breadth - until you finally chased her into the south wing and you almost ran into Katakuri. Just barely dodged it, while Flambe just stuck out your tongue and scurried between your legs.  
"Do you need help?", you heard the amused comment of your husband. Annoyed, you turned to him and looked at him angrily.  
"Why don't you catch her, wise guy," you yapped, completely unnerved by your sudden role as mother. Being a mother was exhausting! A laugh made you moan with annoyance and you saw Flambe walking under your legs once again. You were driving around, stumbling over your own feet under all the frustration and falling backwards. At the last second you were caught by Katakuri, but he seemed to be as surprised as you were. A rough landing was only prevented by his quick reflexes - you wondered why he hadn't prevented your fall completely. He was looking into the future, when he should have known from the beginning that you would fall?  
The grip at your waist became tighter and you wrapped your arms around his neck as he pulled you back to your legs. For a second you both remained in an embraced position, neither of you let go. You were so close, much too close. You stared into the red eyes, swallowed nervously against your dry mouth.

  
  
_Do it._

  
  
Unfortunately for you, he let go of you, took a step back. Desperately your heart was rushing, unable to grasp the disappointment. Then your brain started working again and understood the embarrassing situation. Embarrassed, you brushed your hair from your face and looked to the side.  
"Thank you."  
"You should be more careful."  
Wow, that situation was so embarrassing it made you cry. A strange tension was in the air and neither of you seemed to want to look the other one in the eye. The touch was short and still threw you completely off track: Your skin was tingling in the expectation that he would put his hands on your waist again. That wouldn't happen of course, your brain knew that - but your body was of a completely different opinion.  
"Oh shit! Flambe!", it suddenly came back to you and annoyed you twisted your eyes. "That damn, sugar-sweet bundle of energy!"  
You looked at Katakuri for a second time, but then you came to your senses and ran to catch the little monster and put it into the bathtub. You had enough to do, so you didn't have to worry about this chaos of emotions!

  
"Big sister?"  
"Hm?"  
There was only one solution to make Flambe take a bath - you had to take one too. She had poured the whole bottle of bubble bath into the tub, so that even you, with your tall stature, looked straight out of the foam. What did you do to make sure that the child was clean!  
"You're married to Katakuri." Oh dear, what came next? "Married people kiss each other."  
Children and their damn honesty! What were you supposed to say...  
"Not all married people do that," you said evasively. "Sometimes it's a bit complicated."  
"Why?"  
"Katakuri and I... We're not a normal couple.' you tried to explain it to her somehow. "We didn't get married because we were in love."  
"So you don't love him?" Damn, that girl asked the right questions. Good questions that hit the mark. Did you love Katakuri? You knew what love felt like and that wasn't love between you. Sure, something was there - only it was undefined. You could not name it exactly, but how could you explain it to a child?  
"We are friends," you finally said.  
"Oh. Okay." That was the nice thing about children - they were satisfied with the simplest answers. And, unfortunately, it had sparked a burning question in you: Could the undefined eventually become love?  
Fortunately, Flambe was so exhausted by the wild chase that she fell asleep almost instantly after her bath. She was so small and yet she rummaged through your bed every night so that there was almost no room for you. How could such a small person take up so much space for himself?  
A short time later you knocked on Katakuri's bedroom door yawning and were invited directly in.  
"She's finally asleep," you said as you entered. He was sitting on the bed, his back leaning against the wall and a book in his hand. The scarf was lying next to him, ready to hand, but when he saw you, he didn't bother to cover his mouth. "That a child has so much energy, it's incredible."  
You tried not to think about the embarrassing incident that day, otherwise you would immediately lock yourself back in the greenhouse. Your husband seemed to suppress it as well, since he did not speak to you about it - to your relief.  
"Chiffon said she can go back to Whole Cake Island tomorrow," he said, looking back at his book.  
"Oh, thank God," you groaned in relief and lowered yourself to the edge of the bed. He followed your movement with his eyes, but did not stop you. "She'll get me."  
"Don't be such a baby," he snorted amusedly and you saw the hint of a smile on the corner of his mouth. It was easy for him to talk, he didn't have to keep the little monster busy all day long!  
Again you yawned heartily and looked at your husband. Your eyes grew large and you crawled onto the bed to pull the book out of his hand.  
"You're reading one of Magda's trashy novels?!", you asked and could hardly hold back a laugh. He rolled his eyes at your obvious amusement.  
"I must have read through the library six times," he defended himself. "That's when I arrived at this muck."  
"I've read that, too." You flipped through the book. "It's really horrible."  
"It's too corny," he agreed.  
"The hot guy saves her from a dragon, it's such a cliché!" you laughed. "And then she falls around his neck because he's her big hero."  
"Cheap."  
"She must be pretty desperate."  
You started laughing at the nonsense in the book and Katakuri joined in. You had never heard him laugh before and it was one of the most beautiful things you'd ever heard. The deep, scratchy sound from his throat gave you goose bumps on your back and you couldn't help but stare at him. Your heartbeat doubled and the tingling increased.damn, it wasn't just a simple crush.  
"What are you looking at?" He pulled you out of your trance and you looked away embarrassed.  
"Nothing, it's just... So much has changed since the wedding," you replied and gave him a gentle smile. "I really couldn't stand you."  
"I'm afraid the feeling is mutual," he admitted and took the book out of your hands. "You were a real crybaby, just like the helpless woman in this ham here."  
"Come on, that's just mean," you laughed and sat back. His mattress was much harder than yours, but the blanket was much fluffier. You yawned again.  
"Oh, did you also read the one about the girl on the balcony? The families couldn't stand each other and yet they're dying to make out," you asked him and snorted. "The text was so stilted."  
"Mhm." He sounded tired, exhausted from a long day. You had that in common too, because your eyes almost closed, too. For a moment there was silence between you and you tried with all your might to stay awake - but dozing seemed so tempting...  
"Are you that exhausted?" you asked quietly and did not bother to hide your yawn.  
No answer. You looked up, only to find that he had actually fallen asleep. And he was snoring a little, but you found that endearing rather than disturbing. This man was far from perfect, that much was clear. Why did it make your heart beat faster when you discovered the little faults in him? Just the fact that he fell asleep in your presence probably meant an enormous amount of trust in you - you felt flattered.

The chirping of the birds almost drove you out of your mind in the morning: They staged a hellish spectacle in front of the window and soon it became too colorful for you. You sat up, your hair disheveled and some limp wrinkles on your face. Your movement had awakened Katakuri, who lay next to you, burying his face in the pillow.  
"Shit..." you muttered and rubbed your eyes. You hadn't all seriously fallen asleep in his bed? He too seemed to have noticed it at that moment and he gave you a tired but reproachful look.  
"Seriously?" he asked.  
"I was tired," you tried to justify yourself and could hardly hold back a smile. Slowly you got used to the embarrassment that happened to you, it couldn't get much worse. All kinds of stupid things had already happened to you, nothing could shock you anymore. "And you fell asleep first."  
"Big brother! I'm hungry!!", it resounded through the hallway outside his bedroom and for a moment you were impressed how Flambe could be so energetic so early in the day. You looked to the side, looked for Katakuri's scarf on the bed - but he wasn't there. Where was the piece of cloth that hid his teeth? Had you rummaged it off the bed in your sleep so that it was underneath? Hurriedly you stretched your head over the edge of the bed, but nowhere did you see black cloth with white fur.  
You looked up, the door handle moved under Flambe's weight - it was so small that the only way to open doors was to hang on to the handle like a monkey.  
"Where is my scarf," your husband asked as he sat up and yawned. "Before Flambe has nightmares about me forever."  
"I don't know!" you hissed and the door opened creaking. The following was probably the stupidest panic reaction of your life: You looked at Katakuri, who was trying to hide his teeth with his forearm and acted without thinking. Your hands grabbed his neck and you pulled him towards you, face first to your chest.  
"Big sister! You are here too!" Not a second too soon he disappeared into your cleavage, when Flambe burst into the room. "Magda says to wake up brother Katakuri! Dinner is ready!"  
"Honey, do me a favor and go get breakfast," you shooed the girl outside. "Right away."  
Flambe tilted his head questioningly, but then nodded and jumped outside. You sighed in relief - that was close!  
"Let go." Oh. Oh!  
Immediately you let go of Katakuri and jumped up embarrassed. Okay, that was by far the most embarrassing thing you could bear. Waking up next to your husband was one thing, but having him between your breasts was quite another! A hole in the ground would be fantastic, a very deep hole where you could just disappear.  
"I-I should go," you stammered and turned on your heel to run out of the room, shocked and with a raging heart.  
  



	17. You need to behave yourself, boy

Two months without any major disasters passed until it was finally April - a beautiful sunny day, just perfect to look at the big field with sweet wheat. In the past weeks Katakuri had arranged for the fields and irrigation to be rebuilt so that you could give your wheat a chance to grow under normal circumstances. Here and there there were some problems with insects that started to love the sweet plant dearly - but when you look at the whole picture it was not a disaster. The first harvest was coming soon, but still the ears were a little too small for your taste. Patience was the key to a bountiful harvest, a thing you had to learn. Patience was not your strong point for a long time, but little by little you had to give in to it. Without patience you didn't get far on Flour Island, whether it was the wheat or your stubborn husband. You had been married for a year and your relationship had reached a strange state. You liked him, he liked you - but somehow it just didn't work out. He had never in any way confessed to you that he had feelings for you and you had never made it an issue until now. But in the end you were a woman and women just felt these things. Okay, Oven had to help a little bit, even though his fantastic plan was to kiss you and see how you react. Fortunately, you had successfully prevented his approach, but he couldn't get his words out of his head. It was said that Katakuri had a certain weakness for you, but he didn't let it show through a bit. No longing glances, no 'accidental' physical contact or other attentions. Either he didn't like you in the hot-blooded, romantic way - or he just wasn't very good at romantic things.   
"Big sister! That looks really great!" Chiffon appeared behind you and you greeted her with pleasure. On Saturdays, Chiffon would occasionally get away from her duties and come and visit you, often for some tea and a delicious piece of her homemade cake.  
"Thanks, it's really growing wonderfully," you said, looking once again proudly at the slightly pink wheat field in front of you, "The harvest is already completely booked! I hope that everything will go smoothly..."  
"I'm sure it will," she assured you. "So, do you have big plans for tomorrow?"  
"Tomorrow?", you asked confusedly. "What is tomorrow?"  
"Well, your wedding day!"  
"I don't think we're doing anything," you mumbled embarrassed. "I'm afraid we don't have a normal marriage."  
Chiffon snorted and again you felt how much she wanted a family of her own. She was so young and already had such a strong maternal instinct, it was really impressive. She would one day make a man very happy and woe betide this guy if he treated her badly!  
"Chiffon listen - I cannot deny that your brother and I like each other. But the spark just doesn't fly completely, so I decided to take it slow and just see what happens. Plus, he's been avoiding me lately."  
"Waiting won't work," sighed your girlfriend. "Because Katakuri will do exactly the same thing."  
Damn, she was right. Katakuri wasn't the type of guy to pick on, unlike Oven. At the thought of the youngest of the triplets, a disgusted shiver ran down your spine and you quickly thought of your husband again. So once again you really had to take the plunge and take the initiative, take the first step. What if it went wrong again and you embarrassed yourself from top to bottom?  
"I don't know..." you mumbled and rubbed your neck embarrassed. "I don't even know if I should give him a present."  
"It doesn't have to be a gift," Chiffon thought aloud. "A small gift would be enough. He likes doughnuts. Maybe you could bake him some."  
You shook your head.  
"I can bake a cake, but my baking skills probably won't be enough for his discerning tastes," you replied. "He's awfully picky when it comes to food. Especially when it comes to donuts."  
"What could he possibly want?" She pondered, and you too began to think seriously about it. Something he could wish for - he had never mentioned anything. At least he had no material desires, that much was clear. The hint of an idea came to your mind, but you weren't quite sure if he would like it. Maybe it was worth a try.

"Happy anniversary!" Katakuri looked at you but said nothing. A little discouraged, you swallowed but continued. "I think it's stupid to give you a gift, but I'll make you an offer."  
Again, he didn't answer you, just leaned against the wall behind him. You had intercepted him in the hallway and wanted to give him your 'gift'. In the last few weeks he had spent less and less time with you, talked to you less and less and you had become afraid. What if he didn't like you anymore and his interest in you had been short-lived? What if you had missed the narrow window of opportunity and were now trapped in a loveless marriage until you died? You had to win him over, tear him out of his lethargy and find out why he avoided you so much!  
"I'll take over all the duties tomorrow," you said, "I'll take care of all the fields and the factory. You may sleep in tomorrow."  
He was puzzled, you could see it in his eyes.  
"Sleep in?" he asked and you nodded.  
"That's right. I've never seen you sleep in," you explained. "I thought you might like to try it."  
"You know I have a lot to do," he interjected and you nodded.  
"I realize that. That's why I'm offering to relieve you of a morning's work."  
Katakuri snorted and you endured his impatient look. He seemed to weigh up whether he could trust you with the fields and you hoped inside that he would accept your offer - after all, you wanted to do something good for him.  
"No."  
"What? Why not?", you asked immediately, stunned by his refusal. So you were so selfless and he just turned you down? On top of that, he simply turned away instead of giving you an answer. He really didn't seem to want to talk to you, seemed to be avoiding you once again.  
"I just wanted to be nice," you scolded angrily. "I have enough experience to supervise the day-to-day business for one morning and you just say 'No'?!"  
He paused and you saw the tension in his muscles, the heavy breathing that moved his shoulders. You were angry with him, angry that he just turned down your offer. Why did your kindness always fall on deaf ears? What were you doing wrong that he avoided you every day and hardly looked at you anymore?  
Before you knew what was happening to you, you stood with your back against the wall, his hands left and right next to your head, and he leaned down towards you. You swallowed, a strange feeling in your stomach. The sudden closeness took your breath away, chasing a pleasant tingling sensation through your body.  
"What's wrong with you," you asked sheepishly, staring into the red eyes.  
"I promised you I would never touch you," he growled in such a deep voice that expectant goose bumps crept across your neck. "But you make it really damn hard for me to keep that promise."  
 **Oh. Ohh...**  
Did he mean what you think he meant?  
"Why am I making it hard?" you asked in a low voice.  
"The way you look at me when you think I don't know. The way you move, the way you talk." He leaned down a little further so that you pressed yourself even closer to the wall behind you. The muscular arms constricted you, taking away all freedom to think clearly. If he went on like this, then...  
The moment you finished thinking the thought, he let go of you, turned away and wanted to leave. Panicky about this abrupt turn, you grabbed the fabric of the scarf and pulled it back to you - how could he put on such a show and then just want to disappear? The black fabric slipped under your energetic grip and released its mouth, just in time for you to finally do what you had been thinking about for weeks.  
The kiss was not perfect - it was a little strange considering the fangs. But at that moment you didn't care, you both didn't care at all. With his body he pushed you firmly against the wall, grabbed your neck to pull you even closer. A longing sigh escaped you under his firm grip, while your hand went into the short, red hair. He took your touch as an invitation, grabbed you by the waist and pulled you away from the wall, maneuvering you into the next room. It was his bedroom, a fact that you only registered when you briefly separated from him.  
"So you dragged me straight to your bed, huh?", you asked teasingly. He looked at you briefly, pressed another kiss on the corner of your mouth, which made you giggle.  
"You kissed me first," he said, and he pulled you close again, one arm wrapped around your waist and one hand again around your neck. He became greedy, the fangs grazed your lower lip and doubled your heartbeat with it. You didn't know how to go on, what to do but melt away in his arms and beg for more with soft sighs. Katakuri was only too happy to comply, was so much more aggressive than you ever expected him to be - but who were you to complain about it?   
"Bed," he growled at your lips, his embrace tightening so he could easily push you towards the bed while pulling the scarf from his neck and carelessly sliding it to the floor. A startled gasping escaped your sore lips as you fell backwards onto the mattress, but you weren't sure if you were ready for it. Kissing Katakuri was indescribable, but going all the way was too much for one day.  
"Katakuri," you sighed breathlessly, escaping his greedy lips. "I can't."  
"Don't worry, I won't jump all over you," he whispered. "Even if temptation is great."  
"But I wouldn't object to a foretaste," you purred, your arms wrapped around his neck to pull him down to you a little further. Your lascivious gaze spoke volumes, prompting him to throw his vest on the floor as well and to put one hand under your top.  
  


When you woke up the next morning, it was quiet in your head for a moment. The wonderful seconds between sleep and the realization that you had to get up. Even on Sundays the factory had to run, you had to walk around the fields and crawl out from under the wonderfully warm blanket...  
You sat up, heard a tired growl next to you. So the perfect Katakuri was also a morning grump, what did they say?  
"Don't you want to think about my offer again?" you asked quietly and drove your hand over his shoulder. A tender gesture that you must have imagined a thousand times. His warm skin and the tattoo you painted with your fingertips - it was like in your daydreams. Nothing in the world could beat this feeling, it took you completely and put you in a ridiculously good mood. Only a pity that you had to get up now and leave his warm closeness with it.  
"I will not let you do this all alone," he said. "Otherwise it will end in another catastrophe."  
You snorted in indignation, but leaned down to kiss him. His hand went into your hair, pulled you closer until you were lying all over him. Maybe the kissing took some getting used to and needed a little practice - but that wasn't too much of an obstacle. Of course you didn't object to a few hours of practice in this area.  
"I suppose we'll just keep it to ourselves," you asked quietly.  
"Did you expect anything else?"  
"We are married."  
Katakuri sighed resignedly and looked at you with an impatient look. You knew that he wouldn't openly show your now very intimate relationship - despite wedding rings. You forgot that he was older than you. His view of things was probably a bit more differentiated, more serene and not as hopelessly romantic as yours.  
"So it's just a something," you asked, one hand in his short hair, the other on his chest. He raised an inquiring eyebrow and you swayed your head, wondering how you could best deepen this statement. "We do not have a 'real' marriage - but we are interested in each other. No marriage, no fling, no affair - it's something."  
"It's a bit far-fetched, but yes. Something."  
You sighed - he was so stubborn! And then that undefined something had to be enough for now, for better or worse.

  
  
_It's a start._


	18. You'll build your walls and I will play my part

"Do we really have to go?", you asked and pulled the blanket over your head.  
"Yes, we do. Now get up." Annoyed, you growled and gave your husband an angry look. He was already dressed and wrapped in his scarf, but you were still lying in bed and refused to get up. Katakuri was not thrilled with your resistance and you both knew he would win this discussion once again.  
"Come on, I think you like weddings," he tried to get you to stand up.  
"The food, yes - but not the sitting around and the small talk," you murmured and sat up yawning. It was sunrise and still much too early for you. Once again a wedding was coming up, already the fourth in the past two years. Big Mom strengthened her alliances wherever she could and that meant many tea parties and many weddings you had to attend. As Katakuri's wife, it was your duty to come, congratulate the couple and be part of the family. In the three years since your own wedding, you had gotten used to it, but that didn't mean that you liked it.  
"Go now." He pulled the blanket away, leaving you no choice but to get dressed.  
"You are a terrible husband," you sighed theatrically as you slowly disappeared into the bathroom to brush your teeth.  
"And you a terrible wife." You clearly heard the amused undertone and realized that the tiffs had become your form of everyday affection. Your marriage had indeed developed well, considering the initial difficulties.  
When you had married the commander, you were more than disgusted with him. He was cold, dismissive and, crudely put, an asshole. Luckily for you, you had shown yourself to be patient and were able to see behind the facade. After a rather long warm-up phase you had warmed up with him and - who would have thought it - you had found pleasure in each other. Only the word 'love' had never come between you. You often slept with Katakuri, sometimes he ate with you and you liked to spend the evenings together. All well and good, but this was no marriage. Even after years your relationship still had the undefined status and slowly the uncertainty got on your nerves. But what could you do but be patient?  
"Do I have to wear a dress?"  
"I don't care."  
"I do."  
A more formal everyday dress would do, a thing you already liked about the upcoming party. As always, you were looking forward to the food the most, because if you were completely honest: the ceremony was always the same and boring to death, at the last wedding you almost fell asleep! But what did you do to belong to the Charlotte family and to make your husband happy?  
"I hope we have that fabulous soufflé again from last time, it was damn good," you said and smoothed your top after you had put in your earrings. "Well, do I look all right?"  
Katakuri looked at you for a moment, walked around you and then nodded.  
"Decent." In return, he received a loving slap on the chest from you and you stood on your toes to kiss him. Outside of your home, he reduced the exchange of caresses to zero, so you had to enjoy the little things behind your locked door all the more. It was a little disappointing that he didn't stand by your relationship in front of your family - but you didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Maybe that changed at some point and, as we all know, hope died last.  
He detached himself from you, a hand went over your shoulder, your neck - and pulled down the collar of your blouse a little bit. You turned your eyes, but kept still when he looked at his latest work. Violet marks on your neck, on your collarbone and even the finest scratches left by his teeth. Your husband definitely enjoyed decorating your neck - unfortunately for you. You had to get into the habit of wearing scarves, otherwise everyone would see the marks on your neck. Katakuri didn't tease you about it, he didn't even mention it, but you knew he enjoyed it.  
"Come on, let's have some fun at this stupid wedding," you muttered and gave him a short kiss on the corner of his mouth.

  
"Why didn't you stop me?" you moaned into the pillow. The wedding the day before had been very loud like any other celebration, filled with lots of conversations and as hoped you had had your fun. Too bad that fun often had consequences.  
"I have many abilities. But preventing you from getting drunk with Galette is not in my repertoire."  
"Kill me," you begged. Katakuri laughed hard and sat down next to you. A hand went into your hair, stroked your aching head and you sighed in relief. It was the same at every party: Galette persuaded you to have a drink, two, three and many more drinks were quickly made. Often your escapades ended with Katakuri throwing you over his shoulder and carrying you home so that you woke up the following day with a terrible headache.  
"It's your own fault."  
"I know," you muttered and sat up, face wrinkled and with dishevelled hair. "I'm going to take a bath first."  
"Sounds good."  
As distant as Katakuri was on the outside, in your intimate togetherness it almost felt like a normal marriage. Behind closed doors he was relaxed and attentive to you, on rare occasions even a little romantic.  
"Much better," you muttered and sank a little into the warm water. The bath worked wonders for your headaches - but maybe that was also due to your husband, who had joined you. He had put his head back into his neck, enjoying the rare moment of rest. You leaned with your back against him and sighed deeply. A hand went over your shoulder, to your collarbone and a pleasant goose bump made your neck tingle. Far too seldom did the tenderness emanate from him and it decreased constantly. A bad feeling had settled in you and you did not know how to deal with it. Did he lose interest in you already after two years of flirting? Admittedly, a certain routine had established itself. You got up, took care of the flour and wheat and occasionally went to the parties on Whole Cake Island. Did he get bored with you?  
"Katakuri?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I know we've had this topic before, but... ...but I'd like to do something outside the house. As a couple, you said. You had brought up this topic so many times before, and every time the answer was the same: No.  
He moaned annoyed and ran his hand over his face. It was obvious that he hated this topic and did not want to argue about it again.  
"I've told you often enough that I don't want this."  
"But why not?" You sat up and turned around, looking at him disappointed. Was he ashamed of you because you weren't as strong as he was? Were you just his defenseless wife, useless and used only for pleasure?  
"I am a minister, a commander, and I have a reputation to uphold."  
"Oh, fuck your reputation!" you hissed angrily and you saw how he slowly lost patience with you. "What do you care what others think?"  
"I am an example." At this statement you snorted angrily, grabbed a towel and ended the bath with an angry undertone.  
"An example," you repeated his words while wrapping yourself in the towel. "A role model in lying, sneaking around and pretending to be someone else."  
"Don't act so cocky."  
This conversation was over, on his part and yours as well. You reached for your clothes and left the bathroom to get dressed in the bedroom. Your headaches increased again, banging heavily against your temples, and the anger only raised your pulse. His damn reputation was more important to him than your marriage, your strangely twisted relationship - more important than you. Of course he had a lot of responsibility, if only because he was one of Big Mom's oldest children. The elders had to be strong, smart and unapproachable, for whatever reason they were expected to be. Perospero as Charlotte's first son was respected without exception and hardly anyone dared to contradict him. Compote, Charlotte's first daughter, was very friendly, but nobody dared to argue with her. Then the triplets: Katakuri, Daifuku and Oven. The two younger ones were both strong and loyal, though sometimes a bit idiotic. Katakuri... His standing in the family was a little more mysterious: your husband was admired by all his siblings, the workers and also the inhabitants of Totland. His reputation for perfection was commonplace for him, but for you it was just annoying. It kept you from really getting to know him and enjoying your time together. All you wanted were a few normal days, something to do with him, even if it was just a walk. But whatever you tried, if it didn't serve a useful purpose, your suggestions were almost always rejected. You knew that Katakuri was no picture book romantic, but was it too much to ask for some tenderness?   
"Let me know when you start acting like a grown woman again," you heard from the bathroom and you almost couldn't hold back the curse words that were already on the tip of your tongue. Just don't start an argument, you thought. I'm going to lose again anyway!  
It wasn't worth the trouble, so you decided to go to your own bedroom to finally get some peace and quiet. You knew, however, that this topic was far from over.  
Angry and tormented by headaches you chewed on your lower lip until you tasted blood.

  
  
_The taste of copper._


	19. Don't make me so mad

You refuse to talk to him.  
After another frustrating conversation with Katakuri, you got fed up. For months you tried to get him to do something with you, to acknowledge your relationship as important and to stand by you. In the beginning you thought that he was just busy and simply couldn't find the time for you - but slowly you were sure that he didn't take the whole thing as seriously as you did. Why was it so often the case that the woman had to take things seriously? He should have made the effort and won you over, but that was probably a pipe dream.  
At the beginning of your romance everything had been perfect: Secret, passionate meetings, furtive glances during work and after the first touches had broken the ice, shyness had completely changed. Katakuri was surprisingly offensive and even though he never pushed you to do anything - you had the faint suspicion that he had been without sex for quite a while. Gentleman or not, it was more than clear that he couldn't keep his hands off you.  
Sex was all very well, but you lacked the personal touch. It wasn't that Katakuri pushed you out of bed, but a little more emotion in the matter would be desirable. Calling him a complicated man was the understatement of the year and you would think that with your first kiss the hard work was over - far from it! It was much more exhausting to compromise with him or to put up with his bad mood.   
Turtles and butterflies in his stomach had turned into quarrels and endless discussions, disagreements for which there seemed to be no solution and things that remained unspoken. You felt as if you were constantly talking against a wall, that's how stubborn your husband was.

"A marriage means work. You can't expect two people to love each other unconditionally and never argue," Compote patiently explained to you when you visited her. "Darling, you will always encounter challenges. He is a complicated man."  
"Yes, he is." you muttered into your teacup and took a sip. "He can really suck."  
Apparently, the only person who understood you was Compote. Shyly, you had asked her for advice, since she seemed very reasonable to you as Big Mom's eldest daughter. At first you were afraid to speak ill of Katakuri - but she knew her little brother well enough to understand why you needed help.  
"The triplets are all very particular. Oven has more in his arms than in his head, Daifuku is a notorious liar, and Katakuri is not the master of his own ego," she explained to you. "You will have to work together with him, otherwise it won't work out.  
"What do you mean?  
"Katakuri is far too stubborn to let you tell him what to do."  
You sighed in frustration - that was nothing new to you. He seemed to feel constricted by you, by your efforts to compromise and marital peace. It hurt you that he did not seem to like you as much as you liked him.  
"But what can I do?" you finally asked the elder desperately. "At first things were terrible between us, then everything was a single pink dream, and now we argue about silly little things."  
Compote laughed heartily and patted you on the shoulder.  
"That's quite normal," she assured you in a warm voice. "The fact that you both have your pink phase behind you is not the end of the world. I am surprised that it has lasted this long."  
"It was a nice phase," you muttered and crossed your arms in front of your chest. You wanted the butterflies back, the tingling under your skin and that you felt his hands on your body at every opportunity.  
"Now comes the important phase," Compote continued. "The building of your relationship. You have to adapt to each other, because no couple fits together absolutely perfectly. There are always little things here and there that don't fit the other."  
"If you say so..." How did it come about that Compote knew so much about relationships? "How do you know so much about relationships?"  
"I've been married three times," she replied to your direct thoughts.  
"You're not married anymore," you said. Should you really listen to her advice then?  
"An unimportant detail," she waved and poured you some tea. As strange as the Charlotte family was again - they tried to help you with your problems and you honestly appreciated that.   
"But the sex is still good?", she suddenly asked and you snorted into your teacup while drinking.  
"Compote!", you squeaked embarrassed.  
"Darling, I'm only asking," she said and laughed. "Sex is important."  
You rolled your eyes.  
"Yes, sex is good," you muttered with hot cheeks. Change the subject, but quickly, please!  
  


Later that evening the discussion of the previous day continued. You had pitied yourself to break your silence and the whole thing went smoothly. You tried to tell him how much you wanted a normal relationship, but he blocked you immediately. Again and again you recalled that he would not be a picture-book husband - he was a pirate after all with a correspondingly high bounty. You didn't get this high amount of money put on his head without further ado, a thing you liked to forget in everyday life. He already had many people on his conscience, how could you expect tenderness at all?  
You stood with your back to him at the window, your arms crossed and stared out into the night. In the window glass you saw only your own reflection and that Katakuri was tossing back and forth behind you in rage. Seldom did you get him so upset that he started wandering around in the bedroom and talking to himself - he talks to you, but then you usually don't listen to him. Angry cursing and ranting, he could spare himself that. Should he either talk to you decently or not at all!  
"You forgot to get upset that I occasionally ask you for a small favor," you interjected in between, whereupon he stopped and coldly sparkled at your back.  
"Very funny," he growled and raved on in the background. If you could call it 'raving' then. Katakuri was so distant that even such small monologues as this one went through his mind as tantrums. But you didn't care much about that anymore, he would soon calm down again and send you to your own bedroom so he could calm down. The next day everything was always fine, or at least he liked to play it for you. He was really a strange man with strange emotional impulses. If you had known that before, would you have given in to your feelings at all? Probably not.  
And now you had the salad, you were head over heels in love with him and you had to come to terms with it. It wasn't that you hated each other - it was just that the relationship wasn't going very well. He wanted his space, you wanted more feelings. You thought about Compote and her advice.

  
  
_A marriage means work._

  
  
And you were so looking forward to a relaxed relationship after the initial differences between the two of you had been resolved! The beginning of your physical relationship had been exciting, thrilling and passionate - now a little routine had come. You had not lied to Compote, in bed you understood each other without words. But the surrounding, the shell of your relationship was fragile. Often Katakuri didn't have much to say to you, simply because he really had nothing to say. He was not a chatterbox who had to fill the emptiness with sounds, that was more your part. In the evening you told him about your day, the latest rumors about the female Charlotte Rumor Kitchen - also called Galette - and told him about your new books until he sighed and kissed you to finally shut up.  
There was a knock and Magda came in. She immediately felt the mood in the room and gave you both slightly rebuking looks. She wasn't thrilled by your quarrels, but as always kept her mouth shut. She went to you, held a letter from your sister under your nose and disappeared again immediately. It was understandable that she wanted to get out of the bad mood quickly.  
You briefly skimmed the letter, but then faltered and paused. Your jaw dropped as you were carrying the weight of what was pulling you completely out of the bickering.  
"...then all I hear is 'Katakuri this', 'Katakuri that'," your husband continued to complain in the background, not seeming to notice that you were distracted. "I'm not here to clean up after you!"  
"My sister is getting married next month," you interrupted him and turned to him. He fell silent, looked at the letter and then at you. "She officially invites us to dinner."  
"Please, you'll get your way," he snorted immediately, still with an angry undertone. "We'll go to the wedding, be a happy couple, and then you'll finally leave me alone with this!"  
"Very charming, thank you," you replied cheekily, but Katakuri was right. In life, you wouldn't miss your little sister's wedding, and since Katakuri offered to drive you home, I don't think Big Mom would have a problem with that. Maybe it was a good opportunity to convince him of your relationship?  
"Okay, so we'll go there," you said and he nodded.  
"That way, if you'll stop bugging me."  
You made a sour face and turned away. As much as you liked Katakuri, he was unbearable in the long run. You had to find a way to get along with him if you didn't want to lose him. For three years, you had put yourself into this marriage, three years of patience and hard work. You would not give him up without a fight!  
  



	20. Hit me where it hurts

There were three weeks left until your sister's wedding. The time passed much too slowly, you couldn't wait to see your family again. The mountains of your homeland were still painfully missing, but soon you would finally be able to set foot on the island Litjässe again. Until then you just had to somehow get by without wringing your husband's neck, the way he behaved. At first you thought that his evasive and somewhat reserved manner was annoying, but it got much worse.  
Recently he has been hanging around Whole Cake Island a lot, staying out until late in the evening and not telling you what he was doing. At your request, he waved off, telling you that it would be his duties as commander. You didn't believe him, but you didn't want to ask any more questions. And yet you were very upset when he did not come home until well after midnight and fell on the bed next to you, often falling asleep immediately. What the hell was he doing?  
"Hey, home too," you grumbled when Katakuri fell on the mattress with a groan next to you and threw his clothes on the floor. Unusual for him, otherwise he was so meticulous and neat. Then he must be really tired, but last night he didn't come home either. You were already worried, even if you didn't know why - after all, he could take care of himself very well, so why were you worrying about any stupid things at all? He wouldn't tell you where he went and what he did anyway, he just didn't trust you enough. Great husband, really.  
He looked at you from the side, but didn't answer your remark. Instead, his arm went up, his fingers barely touched the soft skin on your stomach and finally he grabbed your neck to pull you a little closer to him. These rare moments of affection were the best part of your day, but they were so rare! How much you wished that he would give you the attention that you deserved.  
"Where do you disappear to so long," you said softly, one hand in his short hair, the other supporting your head so that you could look at it with your big eyes. He buried his face in the pillow, moaning slightly under your question. He didn't want to tell you, maybe he couldn't even tell you - but your curiosity was so terribly insatiable. You wanted to know everything about him, to know every millimeter of his being. Your feeling told you that there was a lot more, that his personality went much deeper. He didn't want to tell you what was bothering him and you asked yourself for the first time quite honestly:

  
  
_Would he lie to me?_

  
  
When you awoke the next morning, Katakuri was already up and untraceable. Before he worked at the factory and after, he was out and about doing whatever he wanted to do on Whole Cake Island. Questions were burning on your tongue, but whenever you tried to ask him about it, he would either silence your questions to death or just walk away. What kind of secret could he be hiding from you?  
You sat up yawning, rubbed your eyes for a moment and stroked back your tousled hair. You had taken the day off, wanted to meet with Chiffon to give her instructions for the next month. If you and Katakuri would be at your sister's wedding, someone had to take care of the flour and wheat - Chiffon was as always a very good friend and offered her help immediately. Your absence would last ten days, travel included. You weren't really looking forward to the ship's journey, but what did you do to see the family again!

On Whole Cake Island the morning was exuberant and cheerful. Big Mom was sitting in her personal snack room stuffing herself as usual, the kitchen helpers unloaded one of the many deliveries and Cracker caught you at the gate. The commander was quite strange and often seen in his cookie armor - rarely did you see him without the ridiculous hard cookie structure.  
"Hello Cracker," you greeted him friendly when he intercepted you by catching up to you and nudging you with his shoulder. For once, he was all himself - which you were relieved about, who likes to talk to a figure made of cookie - and he seemed to want to discuss something with you.  
"My dearest sister-in-law, what do you know!" Okay, when did he become so charming? He must have wanted something from you, he never whispered in your ear like that. "And all dressed up, too."  
"Cracker, what do you want?" you finally asked and stopped, folded your arms and looked down at him. He was much smaller than you, a fact that apparently he didn't like.  
"Me? Want? Don't talk nonsense," he said evasively, and he walked around you a bit, so you had to turn around to keep an eye on him. What the hell was going on here?  
"Okay, honestly, what are you doing?" Your voice got deeper, more irritated, and you watched him very closely. Cracker was a terrible liar, he liked to give himself away by nervous little things.  
"Nothing. I just wanted to have a chat," he replied evasively, yet his eyes flitted behind you for a split second. Immediately, you turned around, stopped standing with your back to the yard - and saw Katakuri just leaving it through the south gate.  
"What the- Cracker, talk! Now!" You grabbed the commander by the ear and he howled like a kicked dog. He was very sensitive to pain and even the slightest touch could make him squeal like a piglet. So much the better for you, you got your information out of him quickly and efficiently.  
"Ouch- Ouch! Let go," he whined immediately, trying to free himself from your merciless grip. "I was supposed to distract you so you wouldn't see that Katakuri was here!"  
Your jaw dropped in rage and with open mouth you stared at your brother-in-law for a moment. Was your husband really plotting against you? He forced his younger siblings to keep you away from him?! He was in for a real treat!  
"Well, I'll be damned!" you hissed angrily, stopped the whining cracker and stomped off to the palace. You'd grab Chiffon and go after Katakuri in an instant - and woe betide him if you should catch him!

  
"Big Sister, I don't think that's a good idea." Chiffon was worried, afraid of getting caught. Although she had agreed that Katakuri's behavior was quite strange - especially this extreme secrecy - she was not comfortable following him and spying on him. Following your husband was not too difficult, as tall as he was. He went to Sweet Town, the capital of the entire archipelago. It was a big city, made of all kinds of sweets and after three years you could hardly stand the taste of sugar anymore. The air smelled like cotton candy and candy, the mood in the city was cheerful as always and your husband made his way downtown. You peeked out from behind one of the houses with the greatest of care, being careful not to get too close to your husband. His observation shaki was strong, incredibly strong and he would easily spot you if you got too close. But if you stayed a whole street behind him and kept a low profile, he wouldn't be able to sense you in all the confusion.  
"If he catches us, we're done for," Chiffon tried to convince you once more, pulling on your top. "He will be very angry!"  
"I don't care," you growled. "I'm not going to be fooled by anyone - not by Oven, Cracker or Katakuri."  
"What's Oven got to do with it?" Chiffon asked irritated.  
"It's been a few years. It doesn't matter," you waved off and pushed yourself around the corner of the house, Katakuri still in view. "He tried to kiss me because he wanted to know if I really liked Katakuri."  
"What!" gasped Chiffon and pulled your top even more. "And Katakuri knew about this?!"  
"Only afterwards. Katakuri hit Oven pretty hard," you continued, and saw how your husband seemed to walk from downtown to the camp district. What the hell was he doing? Was he going to rent new warehouses to store more flour on Whole Cake Island?  
"Sister, look!" You squint your eyes together and watch the new scene. Your husband stopped in front of a café and apparently he had an appointment. You relaxed a little, because this was nothing new. There were often things that needed to be settled and just as often he met with other ministers and commanders. How could you be so stupid and think that he was hiding something from you? His dealings with the other members of the family were none of your business, and you weren't really that interested - a lot of drama for nothing. But why had Cracker been so nervous?  
"Who is that?" You looked up, looked at the little café at the end of the street - who the hell was that?!  
A tall, young woman sat down with your husband. Long, blonde hair fell in elegant curls across her back and her figure twisted even your head a little. She was ravishingly beautiful, threw her curls over her shoulder with a laugh and leaned a little closer to your husband. Okay, it was more than obvious that she was flirting with him. Katakuri was as stony as ever, but you saw how they started a conversation. She seemed to babble endlessly and he actually responded to the conversation. He kept you quiet or kissed you so that you would just keep your damn mouth shut - as he used to put it. And he listened to this blonde chick, answered well and finally leaned forward a little towards her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper, put it on the table and pushed it towards her.  
Chiffon now watched you and your cool expression. He met with a strange woman - she was certainly not family - and slipped a note to her. A monster moved in your chest and growled. It was dark and ate your thoughts for a moment until it spit you out again and you pulled the corners of your mouth down.  
She should keep her hands off him. He was your husband, and she dared to make a pass at him with those beguilingly long legs and the luscious stem?  
  



	21. The time has come to make things right

  
"Magda?"  
"What can I do for you?" You stepped a little closer to the housewife and wrung your hands.  
"I need some advice." She paused, stopped folding the laundry and looked at you questioningly. You cleared your throat and looked down.  
"Did you notice anything unusual? Of Katakuri?"  
Now her interest seemed to be aroused and she pulled her mouth down. She didn't like it when she had to talk out of the sewing box. Your questioning was nothing new for her and yet she was uncomfortable every time.  
"He has a lot to do," she finally admitted and devoted herself to the laundry again. So she had noticed it, too.  
"I saw him yesterday with another woman," you said quietly. "She wasn't from around here."  
Magda's blaming look was on you and inside she was already preparing a tirade of abuse - until she saw how insecure you were and that you were getting scared. What if Katakuri really was looking for a better woman? A bed bunny, slim and busty. Stronger than you, more beautiful and a temptation to boot. You didn't think he was the type of man to have an affair, but you had seen them together. Was that not proof enough?  
"The Lord often meets," Magda tried to calm you down and she put a hand on your arm. "With many people. Women too."  
"They looked familiar," you replied. "He slipped her a note and... Oh, Magda, I don't know either. It's just a feeling that something is wrong. He's hiding something from me."  
"Well, why don't you just ask him?" That's easy for her to say, it's not her husband. Just asking Katakuri was stupid and he would never give you a serious answer, especially if he was really interested in someone else.  
Jealousy was stirring in your chest again, growling and causing you stomach ache. You did not want your husband to desire another. You were his wife, you were the one he should desire and confide in!  
"Thank you, Magda." You turned away, but sighed slightly. For better or worse, you would have to confront him, because he knew when something was bothering you too much. He felt it with his hookah, to your sorrow. Only once he should be as open a book for you as you apparently were for him!  
  


"You?"  
"Mhm?" He was half asleep already, and once again he had come home late. You had been waiting for him, forcing yourself to stay awake. At first he was just lying next to you, but you had pulled him towards you, so that he was lying half on top of you with his upper body, forgiving the face in the crook of your neck. It was too rare a joy that he sought such close physical contact with you. You tickled his neck, pinched a sigh and took heart.  
"There was a blond hair on your scarf."  
"And?" He opened his eyes and looked up at you. until he closed his eyes and wrapped an arm around your waist. He did not let go of you, but waited eagerly for your explanation. It's now or never.  
"I have seen you. In the café," you went on and your hand paused at his neck. A mocking snort got away from him, but again he made no attempt to move. Your pulse raced and your heart beat up to your neck. Would he tell a lie and try to explain it?  
"I know," he finally said. "I'd be pretty stupid not to notice you. You're not a very good spy."

  
  
_You got me._

  
  
"You knew I was there?" You asked me meekly. You should have known Katakuri wasn't that stupid.  
"You should practice spying again," he just replied and laughed inaudibly. That beautiful sound went over your back, causing pleasant goose bumps. He was apparently very amused about your amateur spying. But if he wasn't cheating on you, what was it then?  
"Okay, listen." He sat up and looked at you with an unusually warm look. "You're my wife and I'm not cheating on you. But there's a secret, so you're not completely wrong."  
"And what is it?" you asked immediately. "I don't want us to keep secrets from each other."  
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," you got the very unsatisfying answer. The corners of your mouth pulled down sulking and the serious tone of voice gradually gave way to a cheerful one. You were curious, very curious indeed - but at least your husband was not cheating on you.  
"Come on...", you tried to persuade him and leaned forward to kiss him. "Please?"  
"No," was the final answer from Katakuri. With a growl you playfully slapped him on the shoulder, but the monster in your chest had calmed down. The jealousy subsided a little, but it would probably only disappear completely when this blonde woman disappeared from your husband's life.Your sister had written to you again. The last letter only mentioned the wedding and that you and Katakuri were invited, but with this letter a real invitation arrived. Curious, you opened the envelope and read the finely scrolled writing.  
  


  
_Invitation to the wedding of Hannah Aegirsdottr and Floki Leifson_

  
  
"Holy shit!", it slipped out. Your little sister should marry that douchebag Floki?!  
"What's wrong?" Katakuri appeared behind you, still wet from his shower and dripping on the invitation as he leaned over your shoulder. A muscular, wet guy with teeth that were now giving you goose bumps all over your back pressed himself tightly against you - naked, of course. Your pulse accelerated and a familiar heat shot through your veins. Your husband knew exactly what effect he had on you, what he had to do to get your attention. Cursed be he, his hands on your hips and pulling you even closer to him.  
"My sister is going to marry Floki," you declared and giggled as you felt his breath on your neck. The tips of his teeth brushed against your skin until you snatched yourself away from his arms with your last ounce of strength and turned to him.  
"Floki is by far the biggest idiot on the entire Grand Line," you continued with the explanation. You really didn't want to confess the following to him, but if you demanded honesty from him, you had to be honest, too. "And unfortunately my ex."  
"Your ex?" Two red eyes looked at you questioningly until you shrugged your shoulders evasively and avoided his gaze a little.  
"My ex-fiancé, to be precise."  
"Oh."  
"Yes, I-I broke off my engagement to Floki because I was supposed to marry you," you confessed. "And because he was quite the idiot, as I said."  
Katakuri let go of you completely and mustered you briefly, collected and sorted his thoughts on this news.  
"So your sister is marrying your ex?" he asked and you nodded.  
"Yes, that's why I'm so damned surprised," you rounded the whole thing off and sat down on the edge of the bed. It was so early in the morning that you could hardly think straight. Then such a bomb message, what were you supposed to think of it?  
"They never had much to do with each other," you muttered and stared at the invitation. "How could they possibly get married in such a short time?"  
"Don't tell me you're trying to stop the wedding?" Katakuri teased you while he was getting dressed. "I've always wanted to see a wedding crashed.  
"What? No, that's nonsense!" you protested, yawning heartily. The sun was just coming up and it was going to be a busy day. Still, your husband refused to tell you the secret. He swore that it was nothing bad and that he was not cheating on you - but he met this woman again. This time he had told you that he was seeing Chérise.

  
  
_Chérise._

  
  
You did not like her and that even though you did not even know her! You did not know what they were up to together, but it was something important. Katakuri didn't want to tell you, he said it was none of your business. Again he didn't trust you, didn't want to let you in on his plans and activities. So it was like always, he did things on his own and didn't think it was necessary to let you in. Was it a plan that was aimed at something big? Was it an errand for Big Mom himself?  
"You know, you might as well just tell me what you're doing with all your secrecy," you muttered softly just before Katakuri and you were about to leave the house. His way led him to Whole Cake Island, yours led to the fields of sweet wheat. All day long you wouldn't see each other, so you dared to make an attempt to get it out of him. You looked up at him questioningly, tugging at his vest demandingly.  
"Come on, I'm dying of curiosity," you begged with a playful smile. "Please."  
He sighed heavily, his gaze was impatient, and he scrutinized you closely, from top to bottom. Your moaning seemed to really get on his nerves and he wondered if it was wise to let you in on it.  
"But that would destroy the meaning of the whole thing. After all, it's a secret."  
"Katakuri, please," you begged more forcefully and he snorted, amused by your unrestrained curiosity. He looked around briefly on both sides - he wanted to make sure you were really alone in the lobby - and pulled his scarf down a little to kiss you. His warm lips pressed against yours, teeth brushed your lips and you grabbed his neck, butterflies in his stomach and honey between his ribs. A warm feeling, so golden and sticky - it did not let you go. You would have to tell him sometime - but first the damn secret!  
"It's a surprise," he finally gave in. "For you. For our anniversary next month."  
You shone at him with big eyes and your smile grew even wider.  
"A present? For me?" you asked happily. "I can hardly wait!"  
"You'll have to wait until after your sister's wedding. Our wedding day is not until the end of April." You looked up at him once more.  
"That you remember our wedding day at all," you said mischievously. "But okay - I will be patient."  
"Sure you will," he sneered, knowing full well that you would continue to pester him with questions.


	22. Honeyheart

  
The trip to Litjässe was too much for your poor stomach. After 36 hours at sea, you were nauseous, dizzy and couldn't wait to get back on solid ground. Damn unsettled sea, it was disgusting - in the truest sense of the word.  
The port of Litjässe was the only way to reach your home village directly, because the mountain range separated the rest of the island into wilderness and village. It was a well secured fortress in the heart of the mountains, a blooming valley full of fields and meadows. In the middle of the sea of wild mountain flowers stood the village, built of longhouses, warriors' barracks and methals. This island was the refuge for every half giant - too often your kind was pursued and captured to be sold at auctions. All kinds of half giants had settled on this island and it was a collection of dazzling personalities. Warriors, craftsmen and families had made this island their home and you were glad that you could protect it with your marriage. Being under Big Mom's protection was a blessing for all the young families on Litjässe and your decision three years ago had proven to be a happy one for you as well.  
"Just like back then," you sighed dreamily as your ship docked in the harbor. "It is beautiful."  
"For the first time outside the archipelago there's an entire village my size," you heard Katakuri softly beside you. He stood out among the people because of his enormous size and you could only guess that he enjoyed not being the center of attention.  
"Imagine me as a normal person," you said as you disembarked. "Barely two meters tall... I guess that wouldn't work."  
"You would have to do a lot of yoga," he whispered to you amusedly and you could not help laughing out loud. Over forty and still making dirty jokes - men!  
"Katakuri, you are impossible," you said and wiped a tear of laughter from the corner of your eye.  
One of your father's warriors also came to meet you. He greeted you warmly and he was also very friendly towards Katakuri. Shortly he explained that Hannah was busy with the upcoming wedding and would only be able to greet you the next day. Until then you had some free time, could show your husband the village and recover from the trip. The latter you accepted more than gratefully - your stomach was still lurching ominously and you were already afraid of the trip back to Flour Island.  
  


"No donuts?"  
"No donuts," you confirmed and your husband growled dissatisfied. You had missed the hearty meals of the half giants painfully and finally there was no sugary stuff! Sweets were all well and good, but such a decent dinner with grilled vegetables and a hearty stew was heaven on earth - but Katakuri seemed less enthusiastic about the absence of his favorite dish. After a sumptuous dinner, your stomach calmed down a bit and the nausea quickly disappeared. As your father used to say: A good meal cures everything!  
Your accommodation was one of the luxurious cabins near the longhouse, the center of the big village. Your father had insisted that his daughter get the best guest house on the island and there was even a hot spring in the garden to relax. Despite the spring, it was still fresh and cool outside - not unusual for Litjässee. It was a cold island, and only in midsummer did the temperatures climb so high that you could go out in summer clothes. All the more beautiful were the hot springs on the island, you could only really enjoy the water when it was cold outside.  
"Don't you like it?" you asked Katakuri, who was rather skeptical about the grilled vegetables.  
"It's not bad, but... It's unusual," he said and finally pushed the vegetables aside.  
"I found all this sugar stuff terrible at first. Syrup here, frosting there," you mumbled between two big bites. "How can you eat donuts all the time?"  
"I need a lot of sugar," he shrugged, but then changed the subject. "What was it like growing up on that island in the middle of nowhere?"  
"Boring," you answered truthfully. "I learned how to hunt, how to fish, and how to handle a gun - although I'm not too talented at it."  
"Would you like to be?" he asked. You lowered the spoon in your hand a little and swallowed the huge bite in your mouth. Good question.  
"I think so, yes," you said after a few seconds of brooding. "You're so strong and I can't really take care of myself. If anything happened, you'd have to defend not only yourself, but me too."  
"It's my job to protect you," your husband said and although he was right, you shook your head.  
"Yes and no. I should be able to take care of myself," you muttered and looked embarrassed to the side. What if he wasn't around you once? What if you had to defend the younger siblings of the Charlotte family?  
"I can teach you." You looked up and stared at Katakuri in bewilderment for a second.  
"Really?" you asked and he nodded.  
"It will be exhausting and take a long time, but you're not as helpless as you think." The warm tone of his voice made you melt and sigh slightly. The golden, warm feeling in your chest dripped out between your ribs and completely turned your head.

  
  
_Butterflies in your stomach, honey in your chest._

  
  
There were several training grounds on the island, and by evening they were mostly empty and the mead hall full of recruits. It was already dawning and there was nobody around except you and Katakuri: it was perfect to practice a little bit!  
From all the too heavy weapons - mace, two-handed and flail - you had chosen something light. A spear with a blunt tip, but it was always enough to practice with. Tense, you stood as you thought fit, but were immediately interrupted by Katakuri.  
"Your stance is all wrong." He came to you and grabbed you by the shoulders. With the heel he pushed your feet into the right position and turned your shoulders a little to the side. "You have to shift your weight more downwards to keep your balance better."  
"Oh- Okay." you mumbled embarrassed and grabbed the spear a bit tighter. Katakuri always had his trident Mogura with him-even if you didn't really want to know how exactly he hid the thing in his body.  
"One hand in the middle, the other hand only on the weapon when necessary." For God's sake, did he really want to teach you how to fight? Real, actual fighting?!  
"I don't think I have what it takes to be a warrior..." you said and looked up at him. "I never really trained seriously as a kid, and I'm way too old..."  
"Nonsense," he interrupted you and left you to take a stand against you. Now he also wanted to be your opponent - why not one of the training dummies?  
"Dummies are not suitable for training." He had seen your look at the dummies at the edge of the training area and intercepted your coming question. "You need a moving target."  
"Katakuri, I don't know..." you tried to get out of the whole thing, but he shook his head.  
"I won't hurt you, don't worry."  
"What? No, that's bullshit." You waved. "That's not what I mean. I trust you completely. But I'm still not sure I'd make a really good fighter."  
He hesitated briefly.  
"You trust me completely? One hundred percent?", he asked and actually seemed to be a bit flattered.  
"Of course I do," you confirmed his question and gave him a warm smile. "It's strange, but you have become not only my husband, but my best friend as well. even though I really didn't like you at first."  
"I can't really blame you." He pulled up his scarf a little higher and cleared his throat. Such a rare pleasure to see him embarrassed and flattered! But that moment was soon over when he pointed Mogura at you.  
"Let's begin. Shoulders back, center of gravity closer to the ground. You're standing there like a duck!"  
Inside, you groaned in annoyance - your husband would be a terrible teacher.  
  


"This will give you sore muscles," you moaned a few hours later as you glided exhausted into the hot water of the spring. "Look, my hands are really shaking."  
"I think you want to be able to fight," muttered Katakuri next to you, eyes closed and head down the neck. The small miniature spring in the garden of your hut was a blessing: It calmed your overstrained muscles and you could relax from training with your husband. He showed you no mercy just because you were his wife. Innumerable times he had thrown you off balance with simple means and let you land in the dirt - often face first. He was careful not to hurt you and yet he was not lenient with you. Typical Katakuri.  
"How long did it take you to become so strong? Devilish powers aside," you asked and watched him with a smile. He liked bathing, but every time it was entertaining. Because of his devilish powers, the water drained his strength and you were only too happy to share the tub - in this case the spring - with him to see how tired and exhausted he became. It was always the best opportunity to question him, too seldom he had the strength to come up with evasive answers.  
"Almost thirty years," he answered you and sighed up in a relaxed manner.  
"Great, then at sixty I will be as strong as you," you grumbled and sank further into the hot water. Maybe he'll come out with the surprise now... "Darling?"  
Now Katakuri looked at you and raised an eyebrow questioningly.  
"'Honey'?" he asked. "You're serious?  
You shrugged your shoulders.  
"It was worth a try," you relented. It sounded kind of ridiculous, really. Like you're both love-struck teenagers! "When are you gonna tell me the surprise?"  
"You'll see when we get home," you got the expected response. Dissatisfied, you growled, but it was clear that he would not be moved. For better or worse, you had to be patient once again, even if it went very much against the grain.  
"Can I ask you something?" You moved a little closer to him. "Something personal?"  
"Even if I say no, you'll ask anyway."  
He had a point.  
"You've been so different since we left the archipelago." You wrung your hands, trying not to make it sound too weird. You noticed his change almost immediately: he listened to you attentively, his hands were always on your back, your shoulders or your neck and he seemed much more open than he was at home.  
"This is really very personal," he agreed with you. "But I understand why you ask for it. Let me try to explain."  
You gave him a moment to sort his thoughts and he finally looked at you.  
"At home, I am responsible. Everyone looks up to me and that means I have to set an example."  
"The whole 'absolutely perfect' and never on your back thing, I get it," you mumbled.  
"Exactly. You have to understand that it's my job to be aloof. It's my duty to be the way people expect me to be. Here we are for a week away from any duty, so I can be a little more relaxed."  
"So you'd like to be with me more and spend more time with me," you tried to sum it up. "But you can't, because you're expected to maintain distance, even from your own wife."  
He nodded.  
"Why the hell didn't you just tell me that?", you asked perplexed. Then you wouldn't have had to ask yourself if he didn't like you anymore, if he was cheating on you, and if he would possibly get a divorce! "You idiot! I thought you didn't like me anymore!"  
Now it was Katakuri who looked at you in surprise. He shook his head and a rough laugh escaped his throat.  
"You always see only what you want to see," he said and leaned towards you to press a kiss on your forehead. "You stubborn beast."  
He was right. You had only seen what you wanted to see, had not thought for a second about his motives. About the fact that he had a job in the Charlotte family and couldn't just throw it overboard. You felt stupid, narrow-minded and quite arrogant. Just assuming that Katakuri would throw his whole life overboard just for you was arrogant and not fair to him. He was probably more concerned about you and your marriage than he thought and you were almost embarrassed that you suspected him of adultery.  
Your heart was beating up to your neck, despite the silence between you. You had to tell him, sooner or later. Like honey, this feeling dripped out from between your ribs and stuck your thoughts. It was golden and sweet, a feeling you were a little afraid of. What if he didn't feel as you did - but still you wanted to tell him. You just couldn't keep it to yourself anymore!  
"Katakuri?"  
"Huh?"  
"I have something to confess."  
  



	23. Katakuri: It wouldn't be me if it was easy

You had gone to your father's house to help your sister with the final preparations for the wedding. Katakuri, however, had stayed in the village, he didn't have much fun dacking after you like a dog. Instead, he was satisfied with a walk through the village, he looked around and thought about what you had told him yesterday.

  
  
_I think I'm in love with you._

  
  
He had only been able to stare at you, not answer or even say anything to you. You had caught him off guard, he was counting on many things - but it was a real surprise for him. After all your bitching and moaning that he should spend a little more time with you, you came up with something like that? Typical, in one moment you were furious, in the other you were tame as a kitten. He had never met a woman with such a changeable character and even if it annoyed him at first, he knew how to handle your temperament. Patience was the key, you usually burn yourself out when you were on fire and upset about something. Somehow it was charming, but he would never tell you that in life!  
Two children crossed his way down the street, walked around him and greeted him. He watched the two boys run away and fall into the arms of their mother at one of the huts. Katakuri's thoughts wandered for a brief moment to his own mother, his family - everything on this island was so different. They were small, loving families who lived here. It seemed to be paradise, a community of happy half giants. He couldn't blame you for not wanting to marry him - who would voluntarily leave this paradise adorned with mountain flowers and forests?  
His path led him further, he took all the time in the world. For once, he didn't have to rush, had no stress, and it was really unusual that he didn't have to keep an eye on everything. Having a vacation was strange.

His thoughts were much too much with you, he was too distracted by your words. Someone ran into him, squealed and jumped back in shock.  
"Sorry!!", the blonde woman immediately shouted. She was only about half his height, with a blue summer dress and flowers in her hair. Her freckles made her look very young and Katakuri thought of you for a moment with all those freckles. In the winter they were almost completely gone but as soon as the temperatures rose they came back on your face - it looked really good on you.  
"That was an accident," the young woman tried to apologize once again. He shook his head.  
"Nothing happened," he replied and looked down at her. Her path seemed to lead straight out of the forest and she was grinding a heavy spruce trunk with her. Her embroidered dress was already covered with dirt and bark, so Katakuri took pity on this happy company and was polite. He reached for the trunk and lifted it onto his shoulder while the blonde tried to stop him.  
"Please, no trouble," she said immediately. "I'll manage it!"  
He allowed no argument, turned around and walked the way he had just come: To the village. The woman had to follow him, tried one more time to dissuade him from helping. She finally understood that she had no choice and had to accept his help. She gave in and walked beside him, knocking the dirt off her dress.  
"You must be the companion of Aegir's daughter," she said. "You are quite tall! We all thought you were quite small, just like a human."  
"I've inherited my height," he answered briefly. Something about this woman reminded him of you. Could it be that...? "What is your name?"  
"Hannah."

  
  
**Her little sister. You do look alike, huh.**

  
  
"What's the bride doing in the woods?" he asked and she shrugged.  
"You got me! Father is still freaking out about the wedding and they needed some more wood for the fire - I wanted to have a break from all the bridal stuff. How was your wedding actually?" She shone at him, her blue eyes sparkling like the ocean. Beautiful eyes she had, but they were no comparison to yours. She spoke so friendly and familiar with him, as if they had known each other forever. Had you told so much about him in your letters?  
"Impersonal," he said, and it was true. In retrospect, he would have liked to relive the wedding, be a little nicer to you. He remembered well your big eyes, so full of fear and your panicky look: Like a deer that had to marry the wolf. Fortunately you didn't look at him like that anymore, your eyes were now always full of warmth and joy at seeing him.  
"I am glad that you understand each other now after all," said Hannah. "After all, she is my big sister! I was worried about her."  
Out of the corner of his eye, Katakuri looked at her and he didn't like something about her - she lied. She didn't seem dangerous, but she didn't tell the whole truth either.  
"How are the preparations going," he changed the subject, wanted to know what she was hiding.  
"It's not as much fun as we thought," she admitted and rubbed her arm embarrassedly. "It's very stressful."  
"I'm sure you're doing fine," he said. He had to be nice to your sister, even if he didn't feel like it. She lied to him and he had to feign kindness. The things he did to make you happy - you had no idea. "And you needn't worry, I think a lot of your sister."  
"You do?" She seemed genuinely surprised.  
"She can be a little difficult, but even that is somehow charming," he put it as carefully as possible. He wanted to reassure your little sister, not to give her any cause for concern and yet he didn't want to reveal too much about your relationship. It was none of her business, but she seemed to love you very much and look up to you - little siblings were a blessing and a curse at the same time.  
Hannah looked at him from the side and finally they both stopped at the beginning of the village. Katakuri put down the wood and gave her a challenging look. In a moment, she would tell him the truth about the whole story, as nervous as she wrestled with her hands.  
"Katakuri, do you really like my sister? Honestly and without any bad intentions?"  
He nodded, because the pushy feeling deep in his chest could no longer be ignored.  
"Now I have a really bad conscience - I only want the best for her," she said in a choked voice and looked at him sadly. "You know... this wedding is not real."  
He had already had a feeling and once again he was right. So it was all a huge hoax, all designed to end your marriage. It would break your heart.  
"Your sister won't be happy to hear that," he said and Hannah sighed heavily.  
"I know. It was Floki's idea and I agreed to go along with it because I was worried about her! But you really like her, you are nice and now I don't know what to do.  
"So you don't want to go through with this anymore?" he asked, whereupon she nodded. "Okay, then we have to avoid collateral damage. What exactly was your plan?"  
"Invite you to the wedding, involve my sister in the preparations and Floki wanted to get her to break up with you. I didn't think a week would be enough time, but he seemed very confident," Hannah explained, and Katakuri gritted his teeth when he heard that. So your ex wanted to win you back - if only he would try!

  
  
"There's far too little mead," you mumbled and ticked off an item on the list. The big hall in your father's house was filled with all kinds of food and drinks, but there was definitely not enough mead for a wedding party!  
You looked up when you heard the heavy double door - Hannah and Katakuri came in. You were irritated to see them together, especially because Hannah looked at you with a very sad look. What was going on? Shouldn't the bride jump for joy and jump around?  
Floki stood next to you, arms crossed and you felt him tense up when he saw the two coming. What was going on here? And why did Katakuri look so gloomy?  
"Floki, I'm sorry," Hannah said from a distance. "But the plan is off."  
The warrior next to you growled and took a step towards you, whereupon you backed off. The tension in the hall increased more and more and a bad feeling came over you. Something was not right here at all.  
"What plan?" you asked in between. "Hannah, what's going on here?"  
"Please don't get angry." Your little sister rushed towards you and grabbed your hands. "Please, I didn't mean anything by it!"  
"What's going on?" you turned to your husband. He gave you a quick glance, seemed hesitant to enlighten you.  
"The wedding was meant for the two of us to separate. It all grew on his crap." Katakuri looked at Floki, who was unmasked. Your husband was boiling with rage beneath the surface, you noticed his piercing gaze immediately.  
"We should leave," he turned to you. "There will be no wedding."  
"This was all a trick?" You asked Hannah. Your stomach cramped up painfully - your own sister had deceived you? She had lied to you just to break up your marriage?! "How could you..."  
"I only wanted what was best for you," she replied weakly and tears rolled down her cheeks. "I never thought you really liked him! That you could be happy in this stupid forced marriage!"  
"Come." Katakuri held out his hand to you and you were about to grab it when Floki came between you.  
"Get lost, you dirty pirate!" the warrior growled and grabbed you by the wrist. "You'll get away and leave her here. She stays with me."  
"What the- Floki, let go," you shouted and tried to free yourself from his grip. What had gotten into those stinking, uncouth morons? Did he really want to force you to separate from your husband?  
"Your father will be glad you're staying here," he lorded you over. "You belong here and not at the side of this scum!"  
"Hands off my wife," Katakuri rumbled, stepping forward and grabbed Floki by the collar of his coat. "Or you will regret it."  
"Katakuri, stop it." you stepped in. Now the worst case scenario had to be avoided. Because even though Floki was a rotten, deceitful man - who had exploited your little sister for his own purposes - your husband was in a completely different league than the warrior of the half giants. Katakuri would kill him in the blink of an eye, you could see it in your husband's eyes.  
You broke away from Floki and rushed to Katakuri, who put one arm around you without letting your ex out of your sight. Meanwhile Hannah started crying, shocked by this escalation and overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. You muttered some reassuring words to her and the anger towards her ebbed away. She was still half a child, sick with worry about her big sister and she understood the mistake she had made. You knew that she would tell all this to your father and that he would expel the scheming half giant for it.  
So much for your sister's wedding.


	24. Everything about you is so easy to love

"You wrote me that you two fight a lot," Hannah explained. Together with her and Katakuri, you sat at the long blackboard in your father's metal hall - who was taking care of Floki the Betrayer. With difficulty, you had managed to calm your little sister, wiped away her tears and sat down with her. She didn't mean you any harm, she was just afraid for you, and the sneaky Floki had used this for his stupid, ill-considered plan. He might have been strong, but he didn't have much in his head. Involuntarily, you had to think of Oven - he was just as big an idiot as Floki.  
"Hannah, dear," you sighed and buried your face in your hands. "Just because Katakuri and I quarrel doesn't mean that we hate each other."  
"But you were so unhappy!" she sobbed.  
You gave your husband a quick look and he rolled his eyes. All this sentimentalism went very much against his grain, and you couldn't hear your sister's crying anymore either. You had been trying to understand the whole thing for an hour, had had the 'plan' explained to you. A fake wedding to lure you back home, just so Floki could crowd you. How your silly little sister could fall for such a stupid plan was a mystery to you, but now it had happened and it was a disaster. You were angry with her, even though Floki had only used her. You wanted to go home as soon as possible, away from your former home. Could you really only rely on Katakuri?  
"Hannah, I know it wasn't with evil intent," you said, "and I won't be mad at you forever - but we're leaving tomorrow. My own sister betraying me is very hurtful."  
"I'm sorry," she snorted in consternation. "It was wrong."  
"Yes, it was," you confirmed her. "I will gladly continue to write to you, but please do not interfere in my marriage any longer."

  
The trip back to Big Mom's territory was exhausting for you and your stomach. You barely spoke a word and were mostly lost in your thoughts until you arrived back on Flour Island. All the time you felt Katakuri's look on you, he didn't know how to handle your secrecy. Sadly you shuffled after him, followed him with some distance and sighed occasionally.  
"Don't be like that," he tried to draw your attention to himself. "I know you're sad and angry, but don't let your head hang down."  
"Such a terrible week," you replied softly. "I was looking forward to a wedding and all I get is disappointment."  
"You're so damned theatrical." He was right, but your mood was at an all-time low. What else could possibly go wrong? Fine, you two had cleared up a big misunderstanding and had become closer - but still, your sister's betrayal was painful. How could she have believed that such nonsense would work?! How stupid did people think you were, that you would fall for such a stupid idea!  
You sobbed for a moment and wiped a tear from the corner of your eye. It hurt to be lied to like that. A hand on your neck made you look up. Katakuri made you stop at the front door, one hand on your neck and one on your shoulder.  
"It's a pity it went so wrong," he said and stroked a strand from your face. "And that we are home so soon."  
"It is a pity, yes," you agreed, but pulled your brows together questioningly. "What do you mean, so soon?"  
"You remember the surprise?" And you nodded. Your heart jumped expectantly in your chest - what was it?  
"And you remember Chérise?"

  
  
_That damn Chérise!_

  
  
"Yes, I remember the blonde chick," you rumbled. "What about her?"  
Red eyes looked at you with amusement, and he kept silent for a moment just to keep you in suspense.  
"She is the architect who built this house," he said. "And I commissioned her for your wedding gift. I hope they're already finished."  
"So it's a big present?", you asked, your spirits already raised a bit. You could see his smug grin even under his scarf - far too seldom you saw real emotions sparkle in his eyes and in that moment it was pure anticipation. You couldn't resist a smile any longer, if only because he seemed to have made a great effort. An architect for a gift, it really had to be a big project!  
"See for yourself." Katakuri stepped aside, opened the door and let you enter your house. At first glance, everything was the same as usual - admittedly, a surprise party jumped out of line for Katakuri.  
"My bedroom," he gave you the tip and you walked curiously down the hall. On the way, Magda met you: She greeted you, was pleased that you were back. You promised to tell her everything later and hurried on until you stopped at the door of Katakuri's bedroom and turned expectantly to your husband who had followed you in silence. With a provocative look he nodded at the door and asked you to open it. Excited, you followed the invitation and stepped inside - your mouth opened.  
The room had been completely redesigned and rebuilt. His bedroom had now been connected to the room on the right by a beautifully decorated double door and had become a large, comfortable living room: Shelves filled with books - new books, you had read the old ones several times - and the furniture had been chosen with style.  
"Go on", you felt a hand on your back and went through the newly installed double door. The new bedroom was simply gorgeous. The canopy bed was huge, instead of one closet there were now two. This was no longer Katakuri's bedroom, it was yours.  
You turned to him, a big smile on your face.  
"So that's why an architect," you said. He pulled the scarf off his shoulders, threw the piece of cloth on the bed and pulled you close to him. You enjoyed the touch, let him kiss you, and with one hand you went into the short, red hair. So much effort, just for you. And your wedding day was only a few days away!  
"I'm not very good at this sort of thing. I cannot give you the public attention you want," he murmured to your lips. "And I probably never will. But at least by sharing a bedroom with you I wanted to show you that I care about you."  
"I know you care," you replied, looking up at him. "I was very demanding with you and I'm sorry."  
He hesitated for a moment, kissed you one more time.  
"I love you." His words were so soft you could hardly hear. Your eyes widened slightly - had he really said that? You stared at him speechlessly until he finally broke off eye contact with you and embarrassingly avoided you. These words from his mouth, miracles really came true.  
"I love you too," you said, as lovingly as it was possible. "I never thought that you and I would end up like this: enemies, then friends, then lovers."  
"It is surprising, yes." Katakuri abandoned you, trying to find his cool nature again. A few weeks ago this fact would have bothered you, but you had to learn to love him as he was. You couldn't expect him to change, to become a different person just because you wanted to. This marriage was not yet perfect, but at least you had found each other and that was the basis for working together. You would do more not to complain about him too much and he had to find the balance between distance and closeness. There was still a lot of work ahead of you, but the basis was there and you trusted each other - time would show the rest.  
  



	25. Epilogue: A new dawn, a new day, a new life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, this epilogue was written before we knew that Brûlée went to see Katakuri after his fight with Luffy! ^^

You went down on your knees and sat down on the broken ground of the mirror world. It was pure chaos and you saw a few meters away Flambe and some of her helpers lying - all unconscious. She was still a spoiled brat, but her cuteness didn't tear her out like it used to. You didn't really care about the cheeky thing, you cared about your husband.  
He was unconscious, covered in blood, and the wound on his side was spreading you worry. He was bleeding heavily, but he was alive. You lifted his upper body and pulled him onto your lap. Gently you stroked his forehead with one hand and sighed.  
"Wake up, my heart," you said softly. "It's me."  
He stirred, groaned in pain and you looked into two exhausted eyes. He seemed happy to see you, you saw the hint of a smile on the scarred corners of his mouth.  
"You took quite a beating," you lovingly teased him and helped him to stand up. A faint groan escaped his throat so that you pulled him towards you and he leaned against you completely exhausted. You wrapped your arms around his upper body and you enjoyed that he leaned his face against your shoulder. As much love as you felt for this man, it almost felt like your heart was bursting with love.  
"I have lost," he growled and you gently tickled his neck. Yes, he did.  
"There's a first time for everything," you replied and pressed a kiss on his forehead. "Don't worry, you're still my hero."  
He laughed out loud, but immediately regretted it and held the bleeding side. Worried, you followed him with your own hand and took a look at the wound. He had done a great job, the old stubborn man. Headfirst into the fight, as always!  
"I am your hero?", he asked weakly.  
"But of course.", you said affectionately. "What would I do without you?"  
"I should be asking you that."  
He could be so sweet when he wanted to be. Eight years you two were married, and the last five of them were just a dream. After the initial relationship problems, your minds were changed: With a little work, your communication had improved, he made every effort to give you the attention you wanted and you had learned not to ask too much of him. As much as your personalities diverged, this man was made for you. Whatever happened to him, you would have his back and love him.  
"Let's go get home." You leaned down a little and pressed a kiss on his bloody lips.  
  


The taste of blood.

  
  
_The taste of copper._


End file.
